Diverse genetic origin of Indian Muslims: evidence from autosomal STR loci

Abstract

The origin and relationships of Indian Muslims is still dubious and are not yet genetically well studied. In the light of historically attested movements into Indian subcontinent during the demic expansion of Islam, the present study aims to substantiate whether it had been accompanied by any gene flow or only a cultural transformation phenomenon. An array of 13 autosomal STR markers that are common in the worldwide data sets was used to explore the genetic diversity of Indian Muslims. The austere endogamy being practiced for several generations was confirmed by the genetic demarcation of each of the six Indian Muslim communities in the phylogenetic assessments for the markers examined. The analyses were further refined by comparison with geographically closest neighboring Hindu religious groups (including several caste and tribal populations) and the populations from Middle East, East Asia and Europe. We found that some of the Muslim populations displayed high level of regional genetic affinity rather than religious affinity. Interestingly, in Dawoodi Bohras (TN and GUJ) and Iranian Shia significant genetic contribution from West Asia, especially Iran (49, 47 and 46%, respectively) was observed. This divulges the existence of Middle Eastern genetic signatures in some of the contemporary Indian Muslim populations. Our study reveals that the spread of Islamic faith in the Indian subcontinent was predominantly cultural transformation associated with minor gene flow from West Asia.

Genetic evidence for an East Asian origin of Chinese Muslim populations Dongxiang and Hui

“…Although the Utsat people in Hainan Island are thought to be descendants of the Champa Kingdom and have been officially recognized as Hui nationality, they are genetically much closer to the Hainan indigenous ethnic groups than to the Cham and other mainland Southeast Asian populations9. The spread of Islam in the Indian subcontinent was also proven to be predominantly cultural diffusion associated with minor gene flow from West Asia and Arabia by analyzing autosomal STRs4445, mitochondrial DNA4647, and Y chromosome47. Autosomal STRs also reveal common genetic ancestry of the Thai-Malay Muslims and Thai Buddhists36.…”

Genomic view on the peopling of India

“…Even though we observed their genetic affinity with indigenous Indian non-Muslim populations, a small frequency of the Middle Eastern ancestry was also noticed. Therefore, the genetic analysis of Indian Muslims shows the spread of Muslims in India was mainly mediated by cultural adaptation linked with minor gene flow from the Middle East [61,62]. …”

RETRACTED: Population genetics of 24 Y‐STR loci in Chinese Han population from Jilin Province, Northeast China

“…Therefore, they can be usually utilized in the fields of personal identification and paternity testing (Chen et al, ; Guo, ; He, Wang, Liu, Hou, & Wang, ). Additionally, they are also used to uncover the population genetic backdrop and structure (Eaaswarkhanth et al, ; El Ossmani et al, ; Li et al, ; Lowery et al, ; Zhang et al, ). The STR loci are potentially related to the genetic geographic distribution and microevolutionary process of human population, which can reveal the different population genetic structure at the continental and sub‐continental scales (Verrier, Waite, Linney, Sutton, & Galgut, ).…”