Dissecting the genetic history of the Roman Catholic populations of West Coast India

Kumar, Lomous; Farias, Kranti; Prakash, Satya; Mishra, Anshuman; Mustak, Mohammed S.; Rai, Niraj; Thangaraj, Kumarasamy

doi:10.1007/s00439-021-02346-4

Cited by 7 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 48 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The uniparental mitochondrial markers in the region support low but significant diversity, mainly from the Tibetan Plateau region and Northern China during the middle Holocene. This hypothesis is supported by the abundant occurrence of haplogroups M9, A21, and I4b (Kumar, et al 2024). Several factors have led to the rich mix of ethnic diversity in the region, including the emergence of regimes and kingdoms such as the Kushan Empire, frequent Mughal invasions in the 14th to 16th centuries, and the slave trade in Central Asia in the 18th century 1996; Rizvi 2001;Perez-Benedico, et al 2016;Rowold, et al 2016).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Genetic architecture and adaptation of Ladakh highlanders of trans-Himalayas

Kumar,

Rajpal,

Ahlawat

et al. 2024

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Ladakh in the trans-Himalayas has witnessed complex cultural movements, genetic assimilation and demographic changes since the Neolithic period, which continue despite the harsh, inhospitable and cold climate. Although geographically isolated from mainland South Asia, Ladakh has historic trade routes (the Silk Road) and is well connected and accessible to travelers from Tibet and Central Asia. Despite its rich cultural heritage, a detailed description of the genetic landscape of the Ladakh region is completely lacking, particularly with regard to genome-wide markers and larger sample sizes. Therefore, in our current study, we genotyped 80 individuals from Kargil and Leh districts of the Union Territory of Ladakh, India. Here, we performed a comprehensive genetic analysis based on allele frequency and haplotype sharing. Our analysis revealed the presence of two distinct genetic lineages in the region with quite different genetic composition. The population of the Leh region is more similar to East Asian and Southeast Asian populations with population drift. In contrast, the population of the Kargil region is more similar to the Indo-European population. The former group shares a genetic history with Tibetans and Sherpas, while the latter group from Kargil associates with Kashmiri Muslims, Gujjars and Nepalese Brahmins. For both groups, there was a founder event at about 18th to 22th generations ago and duration coincided with the Mughal invasion. The genome-wide scan for a signal of positive selection revealed genetic signatures of altitude adaptation in the Leh population, while in the Kargil population the key gene signatures were associated with immunity and female fertility.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Genetic architecture and adaptation of Ladakh highlanders of trans-Himalayas

Kumar,

Rajpal,

Ahlawat

et al. 2024

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Several genomic studies that were published earlier [4][5][6][21][22][23] support the migration of many groups in and from India. Footprints of all these earlier migrations are present either in the form of the modern Indian gene pool or in the form of excavated ancient remains of the people of those ancient times.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Deciphering the West Eurasian Genetic Footprints in Ancient South India

Ahlawat

Kumar

Cherian³

et al. 2023

Genes

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Since 2006, Pattanam coastal village of the Ernakulam District in Kerala, India, has witnessed multi-disciplinary archaeological investigations in collaboration with leading research institutions across the world. The results confirm that the Pattanam site could be an integral part of the lost ancient port of Muziris, which, as per the material evidence from Pattanam and its contemporary sites, played an important role in the transoceanic exchanges between 100 BCE (Before Common Era) and 300 CE (Common Era). So far, the material evidence with direct provenance to the maritime exchanges related to ancient cultures of the Mediterranean, West Asian, Red Sea, African, and Asian regions have been identified at Pattanam. However, the genetic evidence supporting the impact of multiple cultures or their admixing is still missing for this important archaeological site of South India. Hence, in the current study, we tried to infer the genetic composition of the skeletal remains excavated from the site in a broader context of South Asian and worldwide maternal affinity. We applied the MassArray-based genotyping approach of mitochondrial makers and observed that ancient samples of Pattanam represent a mixed maternal ancestry pattern of both the West Eurasian ancestry and the South Asian ancestry. We observed a high frequency of West Eurasian haplogroups (T, JT, and HV) and South Asian-specific mitochondrial haplogroups (M2a, M3a, R5, and M6). The findings are consistent with the previously published and ongoing archaeological excavations, in which material remains from over three dozen of sites across the Indian Ocean, Red Sea, and Mediterranean littoral regions have been unearthed. This study confirms that people belonging to multiple cultural and linguistic backgrounds have migrated, probably settled, and eventually died on the South-western coast of India.

show abstract

“…South West coastal India is a region of high population diversity and with complex genetic history. Some earlier studies with groups like Jews (Behar, et al 2008; Behar, et al 2010; Chaubey, et al 2016), Parsees (Chaubey, et al 2017) and Roman catholic (Kumar, et al 2021) already pointed out the complex genetic history and multilayered genetic structure of populations in this region. Also, earlier studies (Moorjani, et al 2013; Narasimhan, et al 2019) indeed suggested about the multi layered admixture in the Indian subcontinent specially among caste groups.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Reason we proposed behind this was the complex nature of admixture history in the form of multiple layers of ancestries. More specifically in South West coast of India, studies with some unique population groups like Jews, Parsees and Roman Catholics have already pointed about the additional layers of admixture among them (Chaubey, et al 2016; Chaubey, et al 2017; Kumar, et al 2021). Previous genetic studies based on Y chromosomal microsatellite markers also found more west Eurasian or North West Indian genetic influence in gene pool of Nairs and Ezhava (Nair, et al 2011; Mahal and Matsoukas 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic affinities and adaptation of the South West coast populations of India

Kumar

Chowdhari

Sequeira

et al. 2022

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Evolutionary event has not only transformed the genetic structure of human populations but also associated with social and cultural transformation. South Asian populations were formed as a result of such evolutionary events of migration and admixture of genetically and culturally distinct groups. Most of the genetic studies pointed to large-scale admixture event between Ancestral North Indian (ANI) and Ancestral South Indian (ASI) groups, also additional layers of recent admixture. In the present study we have analyzed 213 individuals inhabited in South West coast India with traditional warriors and feudal lord status and historically associated with recent migrations events and possible admixture with Indo-Scythians, Saka, Huns and Kushans, whose genetic links are still missing. Analysis of autosomal SNP markers suggests that these groups possibly derived their ancestry from some groups of North West India having additional Middle Eastern genetic component and also their separation history suggests very early separation from North West Indian and Gangetic plain Indo-Europeans during late bronze or Iron age, most probably following central India and Godavari basin to South West coast. Higher distribution of west Eurasian mitochondrial haplogroups also points to admixture through maternal lineage. Selection screen using genome wide genealogy approach revealed genetic signatures related to their long-term coastal food habits. Thus, our study suggests that the South West coastal groups with traditional warriors and feudal lords status are of a distinct lineage compared to Dravidian and Gangetic plain Indo-Europeans and are remnants of very early migrations from North West India following Godavari basin to Karnataka and Kerala.

show abstract

Dissecting the genetic history of the Roman Catholic populations of West Coast India

Cited by 7 publications

References 48 publications

Genetic architecture and adaptation of Ladakh highlanders of trans-Himalayas

Genetic architecture and adaptation of Ladakh highlanders of trans-Himalayas

Deciphering the West Eurasian Genetic Footprints in Ancient South India

Genetic affinities and adaptation of the South West coast populations of India

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About