title: Traces of sub-Saharan and Middle Eastern lineages in Indian Muslim populations.
abstract: Islam is the second most practiced religion in India, next to Hinduism. It is still unclear whether the spread of Islam in India has been only a cultural transformation or is associated with detectable levels of gene flow. To estimate the contribution of West Asian and Arabian admixture to Indian Muslims, we assessed genetic variation in mtDNA, Y-chromosomal and LCT/MCM6 markers in 472, 431 and 476 samples, respectively, representing six Muslim communities from different geographical regions of India. We found that most of the Indian Muslim populations received their major genetic input from geographically close non-Muslim populations. However, low levels of likely sub-Saharan African, Arabian and West Asian admixture were also observed among Indian Muslims in the form of L0a2a2 mtDNA and E1b1b1a and J(*)(xJ2) Y-chromosomal lineages. The distinction between Iranian and Arabian sources was difficult to make with mtDNA and the Y chromosome, as the estimates were highly correlated because of similar gene pool compositions in the sources. In contrast, the LCT/MCM6 locus, which shows a clear distinction between the two sources, enabled us to rule out significant gene flow from Arabia. Overall, our results support a model according to which the spread of Islam in India was predominantly cultural conversion associated with minor but still detectable levels of gene flow from outside, primarily from Iran and Central Asia, rather than directly from the Arabian Peninsula.
authors.affiliation: National DNA Analysis Centre, Central Forensic Science Laboratory, Kolkata, India.
authors.forename: Muthukrishnan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Eaaswarkhanth
authors.forename: Ikramul
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Haque
authors.forename: Zeinab
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ravesh
authors.forename: Irene Gallego
authors.initials: IG
authors.lastname: Romero
authors.forename: Poorlin Ramakodi
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Meganathan
authors.forename: Bhawna
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Dubey
authors.forename: Faizan Ahmed
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: Gyaneshwer
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Chaubey
authors.forename: Toomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kivisild
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tyler-Smith
authors.forename: Lalji
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: Kumarasamy
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Thangaraj
mesh_terms: D017954:Africa South of the Sahara / Q000208:ethnology; D041322:Chromosomes, Human, Y / Q000235:genetics; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics; D005787:Gene Frequency / Q000235:genetics; D005788:Gene Pool; D056426:Genetic Loci / Q000235:genetics; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005828:Genetics, Population; D005843:Geography; D006239:Haplotypes / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D007492:Iran; D007514:Islam; D008877:Middle East / Q000208:ethnology; D010802:Phylogeny; D025341:Principal Component Analysis
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial