Yang Meiqing, Huang Huangzhen, Zhang Han, Wan Wen, Zhu Kongyang, Wang Rui, Li Jinxi, Chen Lu, Huang Jiang, Wang Chuan-Chao
Department of Forensic Medicine, The Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Monitoring and Disease Control, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, 561113, China.
Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Contemporary Anthropology, Department of Anthropology and Human Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
BMC Biol. 2025 Jul 1;23(1):192. doi: 10.1186/s12915-025-02287-8.
Recent studies have shed light on the unique linguistic and genetic characteristics of Hmong-Mien speakers. However, the underlying genetic structure and admixture events that shape their genetic diversity remain inadequately elucidated.
Here, we co-analyzed newly generated genome-wide data from 164 individuals in Guizhou Province with published data from geographically proximate HM speakers using both allele frequency-based and haplotype-based methods. We unveiled fine-scale genetic substructure within HM speakers in southwest China, emphasizing distinct genetic differentiation between the Miao and Yao branches. Notably, Guangxi GaoHuaHua individuals showed close affiliation with the Yao branch, indicating a divergence time predating approximately 500 years ago. Besides, southwestern HM speakers exhibited an admixture pattern of indigenous Hmong and BaikuYao-like ancestry with minor contributions from neighboring populations like Tai-Kadai and Sino-Tibetan speakers in recent history. We finally identified the dominant paternal and diverse maternal lineages of HM speakers, implying a rich genetic tapestry and intricate historical migrations.
Our study provided new insights into the genetic formation and admixture events that significantly shaped the genomic diversity of present-day HM speakers in southwest China.
近期研究揭示了苗瑶语族人群独特的语言和遗传特征。然而，塑造其遗传多样性的潜在遗传结构和混合事件仍未得到充分阐明。
在此，我们使用基于等位基因频率和单倍型的方法，对来自贵州省的164名个体新生成的全基因组数据与来自地理上相近的苗瑶语族人群的已发表数据进行了联合分析。我们揭示了中国西南部苗瑶语族人群内部精细的遗传亚结构，强调了苗族和瑶族分支之间明显的遗传分化。值得注意的是，广西高华花个体与瑶族分支关系密切，表明分歧时间早于约500年前。此外，西南部的苗瑶语族人群呈现出本土苗族和类似白裤瑶血统的混合模式，近期历史中来自邻近人群如侗台语族和汉藏语族人群的贡献较小。我们最终确定了苗瑶语族人群的主要父系和多样的母系谱系，这意味着丰富的遗传图谱和复杂的历史迁徙。
我们的研究为显著塑造中国西南部现今苗瑶语族人群基因组多样性的遗传形成和混合事件提供了新的见解。
