Interethnic admixture and the evolution of Latin American populations.
A general introduction to the origins and history of Latin American populations is followed by a systematic review of the data from molecular autosomal assessments of the ethnic/continental (European, African, Amerindian) ancestries for 24 Latin American countries or territories. The data surveyed are of varying quality but provide a general picture of the present constitution of these populations. A brief discussion about the applications of these results (admixture mapping) is also provided. Latin American populations can be viewed as natural experiments for the investigation of unique anthropological and epidemiological issues.
Departamento de Genética, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil .
Francisco Mauro
FM
Salzano
Departamento de Antropología Biológica, Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educación, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay .
Mónica
M
Sans
Latin America; interethnic admixture; population structure