Genetic Evolution in South Indian Populations

南印度人群的遗传进化

• 批准号: 9818215
• 负责人: Lynn Jorde
• 金额: $ 33.48万
• 依托单位: University of Utah
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 1999
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1999-05-15 至 2003-04-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9818215&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Genetic; Evolution; South; Indian; Populations

India contains 1/6 of the world's population, and its population harbors a tremendous amount of genetic diversity. Yet relatively few modern molecular anthropological studies have been done in India. With previous funding, the researchers have conducted extensive molecular analysis of caste populations from South India. These studies have demonstrated that historical processes (i.e., known patterns of mating within and between castes) leave legible imprints on our genes. This encourages further examination of genetic variation to learn more about the histories of human populations. The researchers are now extending analysis to 300 members of India's poorly understood "tribal" populations. These populations are especially interesting because they are thought to be descendants of some of India's earliest inhabitants. By studying these populations, the researchers will learn more about the early prehistory of the Indian subcontinent. Did the original inhabitants of India come from Africa, Australia, or elsewhere? Comparing genetic variation in these populations with that of the caste populations will teach us more about the early history of the castes, which are thought to have been imposed by Indo-European invaders about 3500 years ago. It will be particularly interesting to learn whether the invaders appropriated the upper caste positions for themselves and relegated the existing Dravidian speakers and tribal populations to lower caste positions (preliminary findings support this scenario but are not extensive enough to prove it conclusively). It is especially important to collect and analyze genetic information from tribal populations because, as India becomes increasingly modernized, they are rapidly being lost or assimilated.

印度占世界人口的六分之一，其人口拥有巨大的遗传多样性。 然而，在印度进行的现代分子人类学研究相对较少。 在以前的资助下，研究人员对印度南部的种姓人群进行了广泛的分子分析。 这些研究表明，历史进程（即，种姓内部和种姓之间的交配模式）在我们的基因上留下清晰的印记。 这鼓励进一步研究遗传变异，以了解更多关于人类种群的历史。 研究人员目前正在将分析范围扩大到300名印度鲜为人知的“部落”人口。 这些人口特别有趣，因为他们被认为是印度最早居民的后裔。 通过研究这些人群，研究人员将更多地了解印度次大陆的早期史前史。 印度的原住民是来自非洲、澳大利亚还是其他地方？ 将这些人群的遗传变异与种姓人群的遗传变异进行比较，将使我们更多地了解种姓的早期历史，这些种姓被认为是大约3500年前由印欧入侵者强加的。 特别有意思的是，入侵者是否将上层种姓的地位据为己有，并将现有的德拉威语使用者和部落人口降级到较低的种姓地位（初步调查结果支持这一假设，但还不足以证明这一点）。 收集和分析部落人口的遗传信息尤为重要，因为随着印度日益现代化，他们正在迅速消失或被同化。