title: Complete mitochondrial genomes of Thai and Lao populations indicate an ancient origin of Austroasiatic groups and demic diffusion in the spread of Tai-Kadai languages.
abstract: The Tai-Kadai (TK) language family is thought to have originated in southern China and spread to Thailand and Laos, but it is not clear if TK languages spread by demic diffusion (i.e., a migration of people from southern China) or by cultural diffusion, with native Austroasiatic (AA) speakers switching to TK languages. To address this and other questions, we obtained 1234 complete mtDNA genome sequences from 51 TK and AA groups from Thailand and Laos. We find high genetic heterogeneity across the region, with 212 different haplogroups, and significant genetic differentiation among different samples from the same ethnolinguistic group. TK groups are more genetically homogeneous than AA groups, with the latter exhibiting more ancient/basal mtDNA lineages, and showing more drift effects. Modeling of demic diffusion, cultural diffusion, and admixture scenarios consistently supports the spread of TK languages by demic diffusion.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Khon Kaen University, Mittapap Road, Khon Kaen, 40002, Thailand. wibhu@kku.ac.th.|Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany. wibhu@kku.ac.th.
authors.forename: Wibhu
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Kutanan
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, 50202, Thailand.
authors.forename: Jatupol
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kampuansai
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medical Science, Naresuan University, Phitsanulok, 65000, Thailand.
authors.forename: Metawee
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Srikummool
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, 50202, Thailand.
authors.forename: Daoroong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kangwanpong
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Science and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, 44121, Ferrara, Italy.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ghirotto
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Science and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, 44121, Ferrara, Italy.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Brunelli
authors.affiliation: Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany. stoneking@eva.mpg.de.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stoneking
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics*; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000235:genetics; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005828:Genetics, Population; D054629:Genome, Mitochondrial; D006239:Haplotypes; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D016015:Logistic Models; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013785:Thailand
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial