Xg Blood Group System

Xg blood group system, classification of human blood based on the presence of proteins called Xg antigens on the surfaces of red blood cells. The Xg blood group system is the only blood group in which the antigen-encoding genes are located on the X chromosome. Discovery of the system in 1962 greatly aided mapping of the X chromosome.

The group consists of one identifiable antigen, Xg^a; two phenotypes, Xg(a+) and Xg(a−); and a pair of alleles, Xg^a, which is dominant to Xg. This blood group follows the pattern for sex-chromosome inheritance: daughters may receive a gene for Xg^a from either the mother or the father, but sons may only inherit Xg^a from the mother. The frequency of Xg(a+) in white males is about 65 percent and in white females is about 90 percent. Distribution in other populations remains unclear, although Asians and African Americans appear to have low frequencies of Xg^a. The antigen is developed at birth but does not readily induce the development of antibodies.