title: Identification of Polynesian mtDNA haplogroups in remains of Botocudo Amerindians from Brazil.
abstract: There is a consensus that modern humans arrived in the Americas 15,000-20,000 y ago during the Late Pleistocene, most probably from northeast Asia through Beringia. However, there is still debate about the time of entry and number of migratory waves, including apparent inconsistencies between genetic and morphological data on Paleoamericans. Here we report the identification of mitochondrial sequences belonging to haplogroups characteristic of Polynesians in DNA extracted from ancient skulls of the now extinct Botocudo Indians from Brazil. The identification of these two Polynesian haplogroups was confirmed in independent replications in Brazil and Denmark, ensuring reliability of the data. Parallel analysis of 12 other Botocudo individuals yielded only the well-known Amerindian mtDNA haplogroup C1. Potential scenarios to try to help understand these results are presented and discussed. The findings of this study may be relevant for the understanding of the pre-Columbian and/or post-Columbian peopling of the Americas.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Bioquímica e Imunologia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 31270-901, Brazil.
authors.forename: Vanessa Faria
authors.initials: VF
authors.lastname: Gonçalves
authors.forename: Jesper
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Stenderup
authors.forename: Cláudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rodrigues-Carvalho
authors.forename: Hilton P
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.forename: Higgor
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gonçalves-Dornelas
authors.forename: Andersen
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Líryo
authors.forename: Toomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kivisild
authors.forename: Anna-Sapfo
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Malaspinas
authors.forename: Paula F
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Campos
authors.forename: Morten
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rasmussen
authors.forename: Eske
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Willerslev
authors.forename: Sergio Danilo J
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Pena
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D001938:Brazil; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics*; D006239:Haplotypes / Q000235:genetics*; D049690:History, Ancient; D063426:Human Migration / Q000266:history*; D006801:Humans; D007199:Indians, South American / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial