title: Complex genetic origin of Indian populations and its implications.
abstract: Indian populations are classified into various caste, tribe and religious groups, which altogether makes them very unique compared to rest of the world. The long-term firm socio-religious boundaries and the strict endogamy practices along with the evolutionary forces have further supplemented the existing high-level diversity. As a result, drawing definite conclusions on its overall origin, affinity, health and disease conditions become even more sophisticated than was thought earlier. In spite of these challenges, researchers have undertaken tireless and extensive investigations using various genetic markers to estimate genetic variation and its implication in health and diseases. We have demonstrated that the Indian populations are the descendents of the very first modern humans, who ventured the journey of out-of-Africa about 65,000 years ago. The recent gene flow from east and west Eurasia is also evident. Thus, this review attempts to summarize the unique genetic variation among Indian populations as evident from our extensive study among approximately 20,000 samples across India.
authors.affiliation: CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad 500 007.
authors.forename: Rakesh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tamang
authors.forename: Lalji
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: Kumarasamy
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Thangaraj
mesh_terms: D005075:Biological Evolution; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics*; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000235:genetics; D051456:Gene Flow; D005819:Genetic Markers; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005828:Genetics, Population; D006239:Haplotypes; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats; D010802:Phylogeny; D012923:Social Class; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial; D005819:Genetic Markers