1. Afghan Hindu Kush: where Eurasian sub-continent gene flows converge.
- Author
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Di Cristofaro J, Pennarun E, Mazières S, Myres NM, Lin AA, Temori SA, Metspalu M, Metspalu E, Witzel M, King RJ, Underhill PA, Villems R, and Chiaroni J
- Subjects
- Afghanistan ethnology, Analysis of Variance, Asia ethnology, Asian People genetics, DNA, Mitochondrial chemistry, DNA, Mitochondrial classification, Europe ethnology, Genetic Variation, Genetics, Population methods, Geography, Haplotypes, Humans, Phylogeny, Phylogeography methods, Principal Component Analysis, Sequence Analysis, DNA, White People genetics, Chromosomes, Human, Y genetics, DNA, Mitochondrial genetics, Ethnicity genetics, Gene Flow
- Abstract
Despite being located at the crossroads of Asia, genetics of the Afghanistan populations have been largely overlooked. It is currently inhabited by five major ethnic populations: Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek and Turkmen. Here we present autosomal from a subset of our samples, mitochondrial and Y- chromosome data from over 500 Afghan samples among these 5 ethnic groups. This Afghan data was supplemented with the same Y-chromosome analyses of samples from Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia and updated Pakistani samples (HGDP-CEPH). The data presented here was integrated into existing knowledge of pan-Eurasian genetic diversity. The pattern of genetic variation, revealed by structure-like and Principal Component analyses and Analysis of Molecular Variance indicates that the people of Afghanistan are made up of a mosaic of components representing various geographic regions of Eurasian ancestry. The absence of a major Central Asian-specific component indicates that the Hindu Kush, like the gene pool of Central Asian populations in general, is a confluence of gene flows rather than a source of distinctly autochthonous populations that have arisen in situ: a conclusion that is reinforced by the phylogeography of both haploid loci.
- Published
- 2013
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