title: Y chromosome haplotypes reveal prehistorical migrations to the Himalayas.
abstract: By using 19 Y chromosome biallelic markers and 3 Y chromosome microsatellite markers, we analyzed the genetic structure of 31 indigenous Sino-Tibetan speaking populations (607 individuals) currently residing in East, Southeast, and South Asia. Our results showed that a T to C mutation at locus M122 is highly prevalent in almost all of the Sino-Tibetan populations, implying a strong genetic affinity among populations in the same language family. Furthermore, the extremely high frequency of H8, a haplotype derived from M122C, in the Sino-Tibetan speaking populations in the Himalayas including Tibet and northeast India indicated a strong bottleneck effect that occurred during a westward and then southward migration of the founding population of Tibeto-Burmans. We, therefore, postulate that the ancient people, who lived in the upper-middle Yellow River basin about 10,000 years ago and developed one of the earliest Neolithic cultures in East Asia, were the ancestors of modern Sino-Tibetan populations.
authors.affiliation: Human Genetics Center, University of Texas-Houston, 77030, USA.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Su
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Deka
authors.forename: M T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Seielstad
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kangwanpong
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Underhill
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cavalli-Sforza
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Chakraborty
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jin
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D006239:Haplotypes; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats; D018609:Tibet; D014998:Y Chromosome