A novel recombinant HLA-B*39 allele (B*3910) in a South African Zulu

The sequence of a new B*39 allele has been identified in a South African Zulu individual. This allele designated B*3910, differs at two nucleotide positions (246 and 272) from B*39011. The difference at position 246 is silent, while that at position 272 results in an amino acid change from cysteine (B*39011) to tyrosine (B*3910). As these same differences are found in other HLA-B alleles, they were probably introduced into the B*3910 sequence by a short gene conversion event with another allele. This finding provides further evidence for the diversification of HLA-B allelic sequences via recombination.