The mitochondrial DNA history of a former native American village in northern Uruguay

Abstract

The data support the existence of a relationship between the historic and present inhabitants of the extreme northwest Uruguay, with a strong contribution of Native Americans to the mitochondrial DNA diversity observed there.

The peopling of South America and the trans-Andean gene flow of the first settlers

“…4D) as well as the detection of a 4-ky-old sample from Pirabas (north of Pará state) carrying the HVS-I motif T16189C-T16217C-T16249C-A16312G-C16344T (Ribeiro-dos-Santos et al 1996). The subclade B2b3a2 arose in Brazil ∼3.9 kya (3.3-4.8 kya) and likely spread southward following the Atlantic as testified by the presence of a B2b3a2 member in Uruguay (Guarani) (Sans et al 2015) and Argentineans from Río de la Plata (Fig. 4B).…”

Foreword

“…At the same time, historical records show that Guaraní and related peoples, formerly settled in the Jesuit Missions, were displaced to what is now Uruguayan territory. They are even the populational basis for one major town (Sans, Mones, et al 2015). Therefore, it has been argued that as the Charrúa were effectively exterminated, any Native contribution to the Uruguayan population is most probably of Guaraní origin.…”

“…The technical difficulties are mainly related to the quality of DNA samples and budget considerations. Through past analyses (e.g., Bonilla et al 2015;Figueiro, Hidalgo, and Sans 2011;Hidalgo et al 2014;Sans et al 2011;Sans, Figueiro, and Hidalgo 2012;Sans, Mones, et al 2015), an important reserve of DNA samples has been amassed that could be subjected to high-resolution (both nuclear and mitochondrial-genomic) analyses. However, many of them are not of good enough quality for NGS workflows, which require the amplification of long (ß10Kb) fragments as a first step.…”

From Genetics to Identity and Back Again: Genetic Continuity and Indian Reemergence in Uruguay

“…They are even the populational basis for one major town (Sans, Mones, et al. ). Therefore, it has been argued that as the Charrúa were effectively exterminated, any Native contribution to the Uruguayan population is most probably of Guaraní origin.…”

“…; Sans, Figueiro, and Hidalgo ; Sans, Mones, et al. ), an important reserve of DNA samples has been amassed that could be subjected to high‐resolution (both nuclear and mitochondrial‐genomic) analyses. However, many of them are not of good enough quality for NGS workflows, which require the amplification of long (∼10Kb) fragments as a first step.…”