Analysis of admixture and genetic structure of two Native American groups of Southern Argentinean Patagonia

Abstract

Argentinean Patagonia is inhabited by people that live principally in urban areas and by small isolated groups of individuals that belong to indigenous aboriginal groups; this territory exhibits the lowest population density of the country. Mapuche and Tehuelche (Mapudungun linguistic branch), are the only extant Native American groups that inhabit the Argentinean Patagonian provinces of Río Negro and Chubut. Fifteen autosomal STRs, 17 Y-STRs, mtDNA full length control region sequence and two sets of Y and mtDNA-coding region SNPs were analyzed in a set of 434 unrelated individuals. The sample set included two aboriginal groups, a group of individuals whose family name included Native American linguistic root and urban samples from Chubut, Río Negro and Buenos Aires provinces of Argentina. Specific Y Amerindian haplogroup Q1 was found in 87.5% in Mapuche and 58.82% in Tehuelche, while the Amerindian mtDNA haplogroups were present in all the aboriginal sample contributors investigated. Admixture analysis performed by means of autosomal and Y-STRs showed the highest degree of admixture in individuals carrying Mapuche surnames, followed by urban populations, and finally by isolated Native American populations as less degree of admixture. The study provided novel genetic information about the Mapuche and Tehuelche people and allowed us to establish a genetic correlation among individuals with Mapudungun surnames that demonstrates not only a linguistic but also a genetic relationship to the isolated aboriginal communities, representing a suitable proxy indicator for assessing genealogical background.

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“…The population diversity in South America should be described by molecular approaches in order to avoid drawing false conclusions . In admixed populations, it is essential to analyse matri and patrilineage as well as biparentally transmitted markers of the genome because both can reveal different geographical ancestry components.…”

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“…The Mapuche culture is one of the distinct original people mainly settled during the pre‐Columbian period in the VI to X Regions of the actual Chilean territory. Mapuche people, from mapu land and che people, seem to be one of the descendents of the settlers arriving by the Pacific coast route . Mapuche textiles have their origins in the pre‐Hispanic period possibly having been influenced by the Tiahuanaco, Inca and other northern regional cultures, and later by the Spanish conquerors.…”

“…Mapuche people, from mapu land and che people, seem to be one of the descendents of the settlers arriving by the Pacific coast route. [24][25][26] Mapuche textiles have their origins in the pre-Hispanic period possibly having been influenced by the Tiahuanaco, Inca and other northern regional cultures, and later by the Spanish conquerors. The transformations of the Mapuche society, imposed by the Spanish colonization, impacted the textile industry; this activity was influenced by the decrease of large areas of their land, and the appearance of cattle and sheep resources.…”

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“…The population diversity in South America should be described by molecular approaches [Suarez‐Kurtz, ] in order to avoid drawing false conclusions [Gómez et al, ; Sala and Corach, ; Calderón et al, ]. In admixed populations, it is essential to analyze matri and patrilineage as well as bi‐parentally transmitted markers of the genome because both can reveal different geographic ancestry components [Kayser et al, , ].…”