Reconstructing the demographic history of the Himalayan and adjoining populations

Abstract

The rugged topography of the Himalayan region has hindered large-scale human migrations, population admixture and assimilation. Such complexity in geographical structure might have facilitated the existence of several small isolated communities in this region. We have genotyped about 850,000 autosomal markers among 35 individuals belonging to the four major populations inhabiting the Himalaya and adjoining regions. In addition, we have genotyped 794 individuals belonging to 16 ethnic groups from the same region, for uniparental (mitochondrial and Y chromosomal DNA) markers. Our results in the light of various statistical analyses suggest a closer link of the Himalayan and adjoining populations to East Asia than their immediate geographical neighbours in South Asia. Allele frequency-based analyses likely support the existence of a specific ancestry component in the Himalayan and adjoining populations. The admixture time estimate suggests a recent westward migration of populations living to the East of the Himalaya. Furthermore, the uniparental marker analysis among the Himalayan and adjoining populations reveal the presence of East, Southeast and South Asian genetic signatures. Interestingly, we observed an antagonistic association of Y chromosomal haplogroups O3 and D clines with the longitudinal distance. Thus, we summarise that studying the Himalayan and adjoining populations is essential for a comprehensive reconstruction of the human evolutionary and ethnolinguistic history of eastern Eurasia.

Phylogeography and population genetics of the Australian small carpenter bee, Ceratina australensis

“…The most southern population sampled during that study was represented by a single haplotype, which indicated either a recent genetic bottleneck or a founding event followed by little to no additional immigration. Comparisons between mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and nuclear DNA (nucDNA) shed light on maternal and paternal lineages and potential population structuring by sex-biased dispersal (Ross & Shoemaker, 1997;Jorde, Bamshad & Rogers, 1998;Goudet, Perrin & Waser, 2002;Ulrich et al, 2009;Ambrose et al, 2014;Tamang et al, 2018). Here we develop and use a suite of microsatellite markers for C. australensis to gain insights into the species' population genetics and evolutionary history through analysis of the phylogeographical structure of three focal populations.…”

Genetic and linguistic non-correspondence suggests evidence for collective social climbing in the Kol tribe of South Asia

“…We further investigated one outlier sample of Kol which showed high level of East/Southeast Asian ancestry. In the PC analysis, this Kol individual (Kol outlier) aligned along the Trans-Himalayan cline 5 (Fig. 1B).…”

“…2). The majority of these minor components were either sporadic or present among some specific language groups 5,8,25 e.g. the Southeast/East Asian components among Mundari and Tibeto-Burman speakers 5,25 .…”

“…The majority of these minor components were either sporadic or present among some specific language groups 5,8,25 e.g. the Southeast/East Asian components among Mundari and Tibeto-Burman speakers 5,25 . However, we also see a South Indian component which was nearly fixed in Irula and is geographically widespread amongst other South Asian populations with a frequency gradient from east to west or south to north (Fig.…”

Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) and Mortality Rate in India: The Winning Edge

“…As an expert on Human Evolutionary Genetics, it is necessary to reiterate that, in India, modern humans have been living for at least 50,000 to 70,000 years and have experienced various kinds of pathogen pressures ( 22 – 25 ). A large number of genetic and archaeological studies are consistent with a largely local emergence of South Asian ancestry with minor [and in some cases relatively higher e.g., Tibeto-Burmans ( 26 ), Austroasiatics ( 27 ), and some Northwest Indian populations ( 28 )], ancestry contributions from East and West Eurasians respectively ( 29 – 31 ). Therefore, these long term geographic and genetic isolations, might have certainly helped us to modify our genetic landscape against various kinds of pathogens ( 22 , 25 , 32 – 34 ).…”