Analysis of Uniparental Lineages in Two Villages of Santiago del Estero, Argentina, Seat of Pueblos de Indios in Colonial Times

Abstract

Based on the analysis of the mitochondrial control region and seven biallelic markers of the Y chromosome, we investigated the genetic composition of two rural populations of southern Santiago del Estero, Argentina, that were seats in colonial times of pueblos de indios, a colonial practice that consisted of concentrating the indigenous populations in organized and accessible settlements, to facilitate Christianizing and policing. We found the Native American Y chromosome haplogroup Q1a3a in only 11% (3 of 27) of the males. Haplogroup R, common in European populations, is the most frequent haplogroup in Santiago del Estero (55%). In contrast, the persistence of Native American maternal lineages is extremely high (95%). This finding is most likely due to the low incidence in that region of the 20th century European wave of migration and to the existence of pueblos de indios from 1612 to the first decades of the 19th century. In contrast to archeological records that suggest Santiago del Estero late pre-Hispanic groups were strongly influenced by the Andean world, we did not find genetic evidence in support of significant gene fl ow. On the other hand, these populations share many mitochondrial DNA hypervariable region I (HVRI) haplotypes with other populations from the Sierras Pampeanas (particularly with Córdoba) and the Gran Chaco regions.

Fine-scale genomic analyses of admixed individuals reveal unrecognized genetic ancestry components in Argentina

“…The first systematic investigation of human genetic variation in Argentina focused on a limited number of markers either uniparental (mtDNA, Y-STRs, Y-SNP; [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] or autosomal (Short Tandem Repeats, Ancestry Informative Markers, Alu sequences, indels, and blood groups [11][12][13][14][15][16]). Studies based on autosomal markers identified an important inter-individual heterogeneity for the African, Native American and European genetic ancestry proportions [11][12][13][14][15][16].…”

“…Studies based on autosomal markers identified an important inter-individual heterogeneity for the African, Native American and European genetic ancestry proportions [11][12][13][14][15][16]. Accordingly, most of the studies based on uniparental markers showed large differences in the genetic composition of Argentinean populations, accounting for the different demographic histories within the country [1,2,[17][18][19][20][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]16]. Although the idea of a 'white' country with most of inhabitant's descendants from European immigrants has now been rejected by these studies, the Argentine founding myth of a white and European nation remains perceptible today [21].…”

Genetic ancestry of families of putative Inka descent

“…First, the haplotypes of autochthonous mtDNA lineages (A2, B2, C1 and D1) of the Panakas were compared with South American Genographic Database (with 2335 selected individuals from different populations), including published data (Álvarez-Iglesias et al 2007 ; Pauro et al 2013 ; Fehren-Schmitz et al 2015 ; Valverde et al 2016 ; Llamas et al 2016 ). To simplify the phylogenetic reconstruction, a group of closest haplotypes ( n = 193) was selected (Fig.…”

“…The mtDNA haplotypes are indicated with circles; the size of the circle is proportional to the number of individuals, and the branch length is proportional to the number of nucleotide changes. Population groups: the Panakas comprised individuals from all five ayllus of the San Sebastian and San Jerónimo districts; Peruvian Quechuas (Quechua_PE); Bolivian Quechuas (Quechua_BO); Ecuadorian Quechuas (Quechua_EC); Urus from Chipaya, Bolivia (Uru_Chp); Lima and Piura, Peru (LI-PI); SGO samples were from Santiago del Estero, Argentina (Pauro et al 2013 ); Colla samples were from Jujuy, Argentina (Álvarez-Iglesias et al 2007 ); SSN1–SSN5, Tiw (Tiwanaku), Ica, Llullaillaco and L–W–C–Y (Lima–Wari–Chancay–Ychsma) samples were from Llamas et al ( 2016 ); and Lauricocha sample was from Huanuco (Fehren-Schmitz et al 2015 ). Amazonia comprised samples from several Amazonian ethnic groups, including Andoas and Jivaro (Peru), Arawak, Tupi-Guarani, Cayubaba, Itonama and Movima (Bolivia) and Je and Puinavean (Brazil) …”

Fine-scale genomic analyses of admixed individuals reveal unrecognized genetic ancestry components in Argentina

“…Studies based on autosomal markers identified an important inter-individual heterogeneity for the African, Native American and European genetic ancestry proportions [12–17]. Accordingly, most of the studies based on uniparental markers showed large differences in the genetic composition of Argentinean populations, accounting for the different demographic histories within the country [2,3,18–21,4–10,17]. A recently published book compiles most of these studies and others to gives a general view about the admixture in Argentinean populations [22].…”