Genomic formation of Tibeto-Burman speaking populations in Guizhou, Southwest China

Abstract

Sino-Tibetan is the most prominent language family in East Asia. Previous genetic studies mainly focused on the Tibetan and Han Chinese populations. However, due to the sparse sampling, the genetic structure and admixture history of Tibeto-Burman-speaking populations in the low-altitude region of Southwest China still need to be clarified. We collected DNA from 157 individuals from four Tibeto-Burman-speaking groups from the Guizhou province in Southwest China. We genotyped the samples at about 700,000 genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms. Our results indicate that the genetic variation of the four Tibeto-Burman-speaking groups in Guizhou is at the intermediate position in the modern Tibetan-Tai-Kadai/Austronesian genetic cline. This suggests that the formation of Tibetan-Burman groups involved a large-scale gene flow from lowland southern Chinese. The southern ancestry could be further modelled as deriving from Vietnam’s Late Neolithic-related inland Southeast Asia agricultural populations and Taiwan’s Iron Age-related coastal rice-farming populations. Compared to the Tibeto-Burman speakers in the Tibetan-Yi Corridor reported previously, the Tibeto-Burman groups in the Guizhou region received additional gene flow from the southeast coastal area of China. We show a difference between the genetic profiles of the Tibeto-Burman speakers of the Tibetan-Yi Corridor and the Guizhou province. Vast mountain ranges and rivers in Southwest China may have decelerated the westward expansion of the southeast coastal East Asians. Our results demonstrate the complex genetic profile in the Guizhou region in Southwest China and support the multiple waves of human migration in the southern area of East Asia.

Identification and Diagnosis of Complete Haptoglobin Gene Deletion, the Gene Responsible for Adverse Posttransfusion Reactions

“…On the other hand, among populations in East Asia and Southeast Asia, the highest frequency of HP del is observed in the Chinese population, so it is assumed that this genetic variation originated in China and spread to surrounding regions. Surprisingly, HP del was not observed in Tibetan populations, where a large-scale gene flow from lowland southern China is thought to have occurred [63]. Although the reason for this is not certain and requires further detailed analysis of East and Southeast Asian populations, it may suggest that HP del arose relatively recently [60].…”

Identification and Diagnosis of Complete Haptoglobin Gene Deletion, One of the Genes Responsible for Adverse Posttransfusion Reactions

“…On the other hand, among populations in East Asia and Southeast Asia, the highest frequency of HP del is observed in the Chinese population, so it is assumed that this genetic variation originated in China and spread to surrounding regions. Surprisingly, HP del has not been observed in Tibetan populations, where a large-scale gene flow from lowland southern China is thought to have occurred [63]. Although the reason for this is not certain and requires further detailed analysis of East and Southeast Asian populations, it may suggest that HP del arose relatively recently [60].…”