Chaubey Gyaneshwer, Singh Manvendra, Crivellaro Federica, Tamang Rakesh, Nandan Amrita, Singh Kamayani, Sharma Varun Kumar, Pathak Ajai Kumar, Shah Anish M, Sharma Vishwas, Singh Vipin Kumar, Selvi Rani Deepa, Rai Niraj, Kushniarevich Alena, Ilumäe Anne-Mai, Karmin Monika, Phillip Anand, Verma Abhilasha, Prank Erik, Singh Vijay Kumar, Li Blaise, Govindaraj Periyasamy, Chaubey Akhilesh Kumar, Dubey Pavan Kumar, Reddy Alla G, Premkumar Kumpati, Vishnupriya Satti, Pande Veena, Parik Jüri, Rootsi Siiri, Endicott Phillip, Metspalu Mait, Lahr Marta Mirazon, van Driem George, Villems Richard, Kivisild Toomas, Singh Lalji, Thangaraj Kumarasamy
Evolutionary Biology Group, Estonian Biocentre, Tartu, Estonia.
CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, India.
Eur J Hum Genet. 2014 Dec;22(12):1404-12. doi: 10.1038/ejhg.2014.36. Epub 2014 Mar 26.
The northern region of the Indian subcontinent is a vast landscape interlaced by diverse ecologies, for example, the Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas. A great number of ethnic groups are found there, displaying a multitude of languages and cultures. The Tharu is one of the largest and most linguistically diverse of such groups, scattered across the Tarai region of Nepal and bordering Indian states. Their origins are uncertain. Hypotheses have been advanced postulating shared ancestry with Austroasiatic, or Tibeto-Burman-speaking populations as well as aboriginal roots in the Tarai. Several Tharu groups speak a variety of Indo-Aryan languages, but have traditionally been described by ethnographers as representing East Asian phenotype. Their ancestry and intra-population diversity has previously been tested only for haploid (mitochondrial DNA and Y-chromosome) markers in a small portion of the population. This study presents the first systematic genetic survey of the Tharu from both Nepal and two Indian states of Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, using genome-wide SNPs and haploid markers. We show that the Tharu have dual genetic ancestry as up to one-half of their gene pool is of East Asian origin. Within the South Asian proportion of the Tharu genetic ancestry, we see vestiges of their common origin in the north of the South Asian Subcontinent manifested by mitochondrial DNA haplogroup M43.
印度次大陆北部地区地貌广阔，多种生态环境交错分布，例如恒河平原和喜马拉雅山脉。该地区有大量民族，呈现出众多语言和文化。塔鲁族是其中规模最大、语言最为多样的群体之一，分布在尼泊尔的特莱地区以及与之接壤的印度各邦。他们的起源尚无定论。已有假说提出，他们与讲南亚语系或藏缅语系的人群有着共同祖先，并且在特莱地区有着原住民根源。一些塔鲁族群体讲多种印欧语系语言，但民族志学者传统上认为他们具有东亚人的外貌特征。此前，仅在该群体的一小部分人中对单倍体（线粒体DNA和Y染色体）标记进行过他们的祖先及群体内部多样性检测。本研究利用全基因组单核苷酸多态性（SNP）和单倍体标记，首次对来自尼泊尔以及印度北阿坎德邦和北方邦的塔鲁族进行了系统的基因调查。我们发现，塔鲁族有双重基因祖先，因为他们高达一半的基因库源自东亚。在塔鲁族基因祖先的南亚部分中，我们通过线粒体DNA单倍群M43看到了他们在南亚次大陆北部共同起源的痕迹。
