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Thursday, August 8, 2013

Moorjani et al. on recent population mixture in India


Despite some claims to the contrary across the web today, there's really nothing new or controversial about this Moorjani et al. paper, considering all of the non-academic data available online on South Asian genome-wide and Y-chromosome genetic structure. In fact, I think the authors were way too cautious and diplomatic in their assessment of the post-Neolithic population history of the region.

It is also important to emphasize what our study has not shown. Although we have documented evidence for mixture in India between about 1,900 and 4,200 years BP, this does not imply migration from West Eurasia into India during this time. On the contrary, a recent study that searched for West Eurasian groups most closely related to the ANI ancestors of Indians failed to find any evidence for shared ancestry between the ANI and groups in West Eurasia within the past 12,500 years3 (although it is possible that with further sampling and new methods such relatedness might be detected). An alternative possibility that is also consistent with our data is that the ANI and ASI were both living in or near South Asia for a substantial period prior to their mixture. Such a pattern has been documented elsewhere; for example, ancient DNA studies of northern Europeans have shown that Neolithic farmers originating in Western Asia migrated to Europe about 7,500 years BP but did not mix with local hunter gatherers until thousands of years later to form the present-day populations of northern Europe.15, 16, 44 and 45

Here's my non-diplomatic assessment of the data presented in the paper: South Asia has seen multiple waves of population movements from West and Central Asia since the Neolithic, including the Indo-Aryan invasion during the Bronze Age, which reshaped the genetic structure of the region in a remarkable way. Indeed, the Aryan invasion introduced into South Asia one of the most common Y-chromosome lineages there today: R1a-Z93 or R1a1a1b2*. Obviously, scientists working on the problem of the peopling of South Asia really need to become aware of this marker, and in particular its very close relationship to the Northern and Eastern European-specific R1a-Z283.

Citation...

Priya Moorjani et al., Genetic Evidence for Recent Population Mixture in India, The American Journal of Human Genetics, 08 August 2013, doi:10.1016/j.ajhg.2013.07.006

See also...

Origins of R1a1a in or near Europe (aka. R1a1a out of India theory looks like a dud)

South Asian R1a in the 1000 Genomes Project

Southwest Eurasians + Northwest Eurasians + Mesolithic survivors = modern Europeans

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Obviously, scientists working on the problem of the peopling of South Asia really need to become aware of this marker, and in particular its very close relationship to the Northern and Eastern European-specific R1a-Z283"

What exactly is this very close relationship?
Z93 is found in many places where there is no trace of Z283 and vice-versa. They seem to be mutually exclusive in most cases so far.

Davidski said...

There are two main subclades of R1a in Europe today that are very rare or missing in Asia: Z283 and L664. However, Z283 shows a much closer relationship with Z93 than with L664, via Z645 and other mutations.

What this means is that Z283 and Z93 separated very late from their common ancestor, so it's likely that the vast majority of Asian R1a today is the result of a European population moving east that suffered founder effect and lost its Z283, L664 and possibly other, now extinct or extremely rare subclades, along the way.

There was an ancient DNA paper about something like that a few years ago...

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19449030

Nirjhar007 said...

'' the most prolific Y-chromosome lineages there today: R1a-Z93 or R1a1a1b2*. Obviously, scientists working on the problem of the peopling of South Asia really need to become aware of this marker, and in particular its very close relationship to the Northern and Eastern European-specific R1a-Z283.''
They are aware but the problem for you will be the Farmana aDNA, which will make you cry:(.....
and another thing the above research only shows the time(which should be around 1900b.c. since they used an impractical age of 29 years per generation) when Harappans started to move in East and South and mixed rapidly with the Dravidian-Munda ASI people, nothing else in a practical sense...
Good Day....

Davidski said...

You really need to accept now that it's all over. The Aryans did invade India and they carried a shit load of R1a into the country.

Once you do that, we can move on and discuss the really interesting stuff like how it all went down. Which reminds me, what do you know of this?

Morphometric and ancient DNA study of human skeletal remanants in Indian subcontinent.

http://polishgenes.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/american-society-of-human-genetics-ashg.html

Nirjhar007 said...

''You really need to accept now that it's all over. The Aryans did invade India and they carried a shit load of R1a into the country.''
How they brought the ''shit load of R1a'' did they used Vimaanas like in this beautiful article:-)?
http://decodehindumythology.blogspot.in/2013/06/ufos-and-vimanas.html#comment-form
''Once you do that, we can move on and discuss the really interesting stuff like how it all went down''
You know what your whole hypothesis is very weak! you know why? It's because it is totally built up on a theory!! A theory which is yet to find a single Direct/Actual evidence!...
Farmana aDNA has the ability to solve the Indo-European Puzzle for ever!! No kidding....
''what do you know of this?

Morphometric and ancient DNA study of human skeletal remanants in Indian subcontinent.

http://polishgenes.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/american-society-of-human-genetics-ashg.html''
Same as you do David...
Good Day.