Mannose-binding lectin (MBL) is one of the five recognition molecules in the lectin complement pathway. Common variant alleles in the promoter and structural regions of the human MBL gene (MBL2) influence the stability and serum concentration of the protein. Epidemiological studies have shown that MBL2 variant alleles are associated with susceptibility to and the course of different types of infectious and inflammatory conditions. However, it has been suggested that these alleles are maintained in different populations due to selected advantages for carriers. We investigated the MBL2 allelic variation in indigenous individuals from 12 different West Central South America localities spanning from the desert coast, high altitude Andean plates and the Amazon tropical forest within the territories of Peru (n = 249) (Departments of Loreto, Ucayali, Lambayeque, Junin, Ayacucho, Huancayo and Pu...