A comprehensive map of genetic variation in the world’s largest ethnic group – Han Chinese, by Charleston et al. (2017).
It is believed – based on uniparental markers from modern and ancient DNA samples and array-based genome-wide data – that Han Chinese originated in the Central Plain region of China during prehistoric times, expanding with agriculture and technology northward and southward, to become the largest Chinese ethnic group.
Abstract:
As are most non-European populations around the globe, the Han Chinese are relatively understudied in population and medical genetics studies. From low-coverage whole-genome sequencing of 11,670 Han Chinese women we present a catalog of 25,057,223 variants, including 548,401 novel variants that are seen at least 10 times in our dataset. Individuals from our study come from 19 out of 22 provinces across China, allowing us to study population structure, genetic ancestry, and local adaptation in Han Chinese. We identify previously unrecognized population structure along the East-West axis of China and report unique signals of admixture across geographical space, such as European influences among the Northwestern provinces of China. Finally, we identified a number of highly differentiated loci, indicative of local adaptation in the Han Chinese. In particular, we detected extreme differentiation among the Han Chinese at MTHFR, ADH7, and FADS loci, suggesting that these loci may not be specifically selected in Tibetan and Inuit populations as previously suggested. On the other hand, we find that Neandertal ancestry does not vary significantly across the provinces, consistent with admixture prior to the dispersal of modern Han Chinese. Furthermore, contrary to a previous report, Neandertal ancestry does not explain a significant amount of heritability in depression. Our findings provide the largest genetic data set so far made available for Han Chinese and provide insights into the history and population structure of the world’s largest ethnic group.
Using Shanghai individuals as representatives, shared drift between Chinese and ancient humans are computed by calculating the outgroup f3 statistics of the form f3(Mbuty;X, Y), with ancient individuals separated into approximately Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic , and Chalcolithic-Medieval times. it is found that modern Chinese individuals show greater shared drift with pre-Neolithic hunter-gatherers rather than Neolithic farmers (Featured image from the article).
EDIT (17/7/2017): Davidski at Eurogenes shares an interesting view on this kind of results:
These sorts of estimates always look way off. And I doubt that it’s largely the result of the Silk Road, which linked China to the Near East and Mediterranean rather than to Northern Europe. More likely it reflects gene flow from the Pontic-Caspian steppe in Eastern Europe during the Bronze and Iron ages, via the Afanasievo, Andronovo, and other closely related steppe peoples
New insights from Thailand into the maternal genetic history of Mainland Southeast Asia, by Kutanan et al. (2017)
Abstract:
Tai-Kadai (TK) is one of the major language families in Mainland Southeast Asia (MSEA), with a concentration in the area of Thailand and Laos. Our previous study of 1,234 mtDNA genome sequences supported a demic diffusion scenario in the spread of TK languages from southern China to Laos as well as northern and northeastern Thailand. Here we add an additional 560 mtDNA sequences from 22 groups, with a focus on the TK-speaking central Thai people and the Sino-Tibetan speaking Karen. We find extensive diversity, including 62 haplogroups not reported previously from this region. Demic diffusion is still a preferable scenario for central Thais, emphasizing the extension and expansion of TK people through MSEA, although there is also some support for an admixture model. We also tested competing models concerning the genetic relationships of groups from the major MSEA languages, and found support for an ancestral relationship of TK and Austronesian-speaking groups.
