Author:
He Guanglin,Wang Jiawen,Yang Lin,Duan Shuhan,Sun Qiuxia,Li Youjing,Wu Jun,Wu Wenxin,Wang Zheng,Liu Yan,Tang Renkuan,Yang Junbao,Liu Chao,Yuan Buhong,Wang Daoyong,Xu Jianwei,Wang Mengge
Abstract
Abstract
Background
Fine-scale genetic structure of ethnolinguistically diverse Chinese populations can fill the gap in the missing diversity and evolutionary landscape of East Asians, particularly for anthropologically informed Chinese minorities. Hmong–Mien (HM) people were one of the most significant indigenous populations in South China and Southeast Asia, which were suggested to be the descendants of the ancient Yangtze rice farmers based on linguistic and archeological evidence. However, their deep population history and biological adaptative features remained to be fully characterized.
Objectives
To explore the evolutionary and adaptive characteristics of the Miao people, we genotyped genome-wide SNP data in Guizhou HM-speaking populations and merged it with modern and ancient reference populations via a comprehensive population genetic analysis and evolutionary admixture modeling.
Results
The overall genetic admixture landscape of Guizhou Miao showed genetic differentiation between them and other linguistically diverse Guizhou populations. Admixture models further confirmed that Miao people derived their primary ancestry from geographically close Guangxi Gaohuahua people. The estimated identity by descent and effective population size confirmed a plausible population bottleneck, contributing to their unique genetic diversity and population structure patterns. We finally identified several natural selection candidate genes associated with several biological pathways.
Conclusions
Guizhou Miao possessed a specific genetic structure and harbored a close genetic relationship with geographically close southern Chinese indigenous populations and Guangxi historical people. Miao people derived their major ancestry from geographically close Guangxi Gaohuahua people and experienced a plausible population bottleneck which contributed to the unique pattern of their genetic diversity and structure. Future ancient DNA from Shijiahe and Qujialing will provide new insights into the origin of the Miao people.
Funder
Guizhou Scientific Support Project, Qian Science Support
Guizhou Provincial Ordinary Colleges and Universities Young Scientific and Technological Talents Growth Project: Qianjiaohe KY Character
Doctoral Foundation of Guizhou Medical University
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Subject
Drug Discovery,Genetics,Molecular Biology,Molecular Medicine
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