Genetic Evidence for Recent Population Mixture in IndiaPriya Moorjani1, 2, 6, Go To Corresponding Author, , Kumarasamy Thangaraj3, 6, Go To Corresponding Author, , Nick Patterson2, Mark Lipson4, Po-Ru Loh4, Periyasamy Govindaraj3, Bonnie Berger2, 4, David Reich1, 2, 7 and Lalji Singh3, 5, 7
The American Journal of Human Genetics, 08 August 2013
AbstractMost Indian groups descend from a mixture of two genetically divergent populations: Ancestral North Indians (ANI) related to Central Asians, Middle Easterners, Caucasians, and Europeans; and Ancestral South Indians (ASI) not closely related to groups outside the subcontinent. The date of mixture is unknown but has implications for understanding Indian history. We report genome-wide data from 73 groups from the Indian subcontinent and analyze linkage disequilibrium to estimate ANI-ASI mixture dates ranging from about 1,900 to 4,200 years ago. In a subset of groups, 100% of the mixture is consistent with having occurred during this period. These results show that India experienced a demographic transformation several thousand years ago, from a region in which major population mixture was common to one in which mixture even between closely related groups became rare because of a shift to endogamy.
http://www.cell.com/AJHG/abstract/S0002-9297%2813%2900324-8