Positive selection on mitochondrial M7 lineages among the Gelong people in Hainan.

Selections on human mitochondrial variations are difficult to examine. In this study, we found possible signs of selection on mitochondrial M7 lineages among the Gelong people who migrated from Guizhou to Hainan (the hottest province in China) throughout the last 1000 years. The genetic structure of the Gelong people shows an obvious sex-biased population admixture pattern with only 4.9% paternal contribution but 30.7% maternal contribution from indigenous Hlai people. According to frequency spectrum tests for deviation from neutrality and mismatch tests of demographic expansion, part of the maternal mitochondrial M7 lineages among the Gelong came from the Hlai had spread quickly and therefore might have undergone positive selection. In the future, whole mitochondrial genome sequencing might reveal the functional advantage of the M7 lineages.