title: Genetic structure of Hmong-Mien speaking populations in East Asia as revealed by mtDNA lineages.
abstract: Hmong-Mien (H-M) is a major language family in East Asia, and its speakers distribute primarily in southern China and Southeast Asia. To date, genetic studies on H-M speaking populations are virtually absent in the literature. In this report, we present the results of an analysis of genetic variations in the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) hypervariable segment 1 (HVS1) region and diagnostic variants in the coding regions in 537 individuals sampled from 17 H-M populations across East Asia. The analysis showed that the haplogroups that are predominant in southern East Asia, including B, R9, N9a, and M7, account for 63% (ranging from 45% to 90%) of mtDNAs in H-M populations. Furthermore, analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA), phylogenetic tree analysis, and principal component (PC) analysis demonstrate closer relatedness between H-M and other southern East Asians, suggesting a general southern origin of maternal lineages in the H-M populations. The estimated ages of the mtDNA lineages that are specific to H-M coincide with those based on archeological cultures that have been associated with H-M. Analysis of genetic distance and phylogenetic tree indicated some extent of difference between the Hmong and the Mien populations. Together with the higher frequency of north-dominating lineages observed in the Hmong people, our results indicate that the Hmong populations had experienced more contact with the northern East Asians, a finding consistent with historical evidence. Moreover, our data defined some new (sub-)haplogroups (A6, B4e, B4f, C5, F1a1, F1a1a, and R9c), which will direct further efforts to improve the phylogeny of East Asian mtDNAs.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering and Center for Anthropological Studies, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wen
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Song
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Xianyun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Yungang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Yongli
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.forename: Youjun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Wenju
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Jianzhong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: Chunjie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.forename: Daru
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Ranajit
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Chakraborty
authors.forename: Bing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Su
authors.forename: Ranjan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Deka
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jin
mesh_terms: D001210:Asia, Southeastern; D044466:Asian People; D001483:Base Sequence; D002681:China; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics*; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005828:Genetics, Population; D006239:Haplotypes; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial