Languages, geography and HLA haplotypes in Native American and Asian populations

Abstract

A number of studies based on linguistic, dental and genetic data have proposed that the colonization of the New World took place in three separate waves of migration from North-East Asia. Recently, other studies have suggested that only one major migration occurred. It is the aim of this study to assess these opposing migration hypotheses using molecular-typed HLA class II alleles to compare the relationships between linguistic and genetic data in contemporary Native American populations. Our results suggest that gene £ow and genetic drift have been important factors in shaping the genetic landscape of Native American populations. We report signi¢cant correlations between genetic and geographical distances in Native American and East Asian populations. In contrast, a less clear-cut relationship seems to exist between genetic distances and linguistic a¤liation. In particular, the close genetic relationship of the neighbouring Na-Dene Athabaskans and Amerindian Salishans suggests that geography is the more important factor. Overall, our results are most congruent with the single migration model.

Genetic, geographic, and environmental correlates of human temporal bone variation

“…This finding may indicate that the modern genetic analogue, the Pima, was not representative of the older morphological sample from Grand Gulch, Utah. Alternatively, the marked genetic differentiation of the Pima sample may be the result of the extreme bottle-necking hypothesized to have occurred during the migration of early Americans to the New World (Szathmary, 1993;Santos et al, 1995;Monsalve et al, 1999;Bortolini et al, 2002;Battilana et al, 2006). While neutral molecular markers may drift unchecked, the cranium is likely to be under some degree of stabilizing selection.…”

Genetic affinities among Mongol ethnic groups and their relationship to Turks

“…Genetic distance is a measure of overall evolutionary divergence between two populations. It usually correlates with the historical, geographical and linguistic relationships (14–16) although there are examples of the lack of congruence between linguistic and genetic data in some populations (17, 18). Despite being under strong selective pressure, HLA genes have been successfully used in genetic distance studies (19, 20).…”

Population genetic structure and vocal dialects in an amazon parrot

“…These exceptions appear to correspond to either rare cases of language replacement or genetic admixture between two linguistically distinct populations (Cavalli-Sforza 1997; Chu et al 1998) or cases in which the underlying classi¢cation of language variation remains uncertain (Ward et al 1993;Monsalve et al 1999). Thus, there appears to be a real di¡erence between humans and birds in the degree of coevolution of genetic and cultural traits.…”

“…For traditional human societies there is mounting evidence that language variation is often highly correlated with variation in neutral genes, suggesting that transmission of language has been primarily vertical (i.e. from parents to o¡spring) Piazza et al 1995;Cavalli-Sforza 1997) although some exceptions have been noted (Ward et al 1993;Chu et al 1998;Monsalve et al 1999). Conversely, studies of male song in oscine songbirds have generally not found a strong association between vocal and genetic variation (Kroodsma et al 1985;Fleischer & Rothstein 1988;Payne & Westneat 1988;Lougheed & Handford 1992;Catchpole & Slater 1995) suggesting that horizontal or oblique transmission (i.e.…”