Doctoral Disssertation Improvement Grant: Analysis of Y-Chromosome Variation in Indigenous Altaian and Altaian Kazakh Populations

通过对西伯利亚土著人口的基因分析，人们对欧亚大陆北部的人类殖民有了许多新的认识。这项研究有助于重建史前人类群体在这一地区定居的时间和运动方向，并描述了他们在文化和语言上彼此不同时发生的基因多样化过程。该项目将通过分析生活在假定的西伯利亚原住民和美洲原住民祖先家园的人群的y染色体变异，扩展先前的努力，以了解西伯利亚的史前历史。更具体地说，这个项目将研究居住在俄罗斯阿尔泰共和国的几个民族的人口历史。这将通过分析土著切尔坎族、管珥族、库曼丁族、阿尔泰-基治族以及阿尔泰哈萨克族的y染色体变异，并通过系统发育和统计方法将这些阿尔泰族的数据与其他西伯利亚、东亚、中亚和新世界土著人群的数据进行比较来完成。由此产生的数据将有助于澄清西伯利亚阿尔泰-萨扬地区的历史，并阐明阿尔泰祖先在西伯利亚最初定居以及东亚和美洲的人类中所起的作用。本研究将在西伯利亚人口历史的背景下进一步探索说蒙古语和突厥语的人口扩张的遗传后果。这项研究将增加来自采样不足地区和土著人口的新分子数据，这对了解阿尔泰乃至更广泛的西伯利亚人口历史非常重要。这些信息对于了解美洲原住民的人口历史也很重要，因为众所周知，人类主要是通过西伯利亚和北美迁移到新大陆的。此外，该项目将探索文化、语言和部落社会结构在形成这些群体的遗传变异中可能发挥的作用。本项目中概述的y染色体分析将有助于更大的研究，包括分析几个独立的遗传系统和标记，包括mtDNA， x染色体和许多常染色体SNP标记。事实上，马修·杜立克（Matthew Dulik）参与的对阿尔泰族群mtDNA变异的分析，揭示了北部（切尔坎人、管状人、库曼丁人）和南部（阿尔泰-基日人）阿尔泰族群之间的差异，以及北部阿尔泰族群之间的差异。此外，mtDNA数据揭示了阿尔泰-萨扬地区与西伯利亚和东亚其他地区之间有趣的母系遗传联系。预计y染色体数据将进一步阐述这些模式，并提供欧亚大陆北部男性遗传史的补充观点。该项目的合作性质将极大地促进参与者的学习经验，并扩大他们对西伯利亚、欧亚大陆北部和北美历史的了解。该项目包括与美国、加拿大和俄罗斯的科学家合作，分析其他遗传标记、样本和人口统计数据。本研究为本科生和研究生提供了广泛的教育机会。

Many new insights into the human colonization of northern Eurasia have been discovered through the genetic analysis of indigenous populations of Siberia. This research has helped to reconstruct the timing and direction of the movements of prehistoric human groups as they settled this region, as well as characterize the process of genetic diversification that occurred as they became culturally and linguistically distinct from each other. This project will extend previous efforts to understand Siberian prehistory through the analysis of Y-chromosome variation in populations living in the putative homeland of both ancestral native Siberians and Native Americans. More specifically, this project will examine the population histories of several ethnic groups residing in the Altai Republic of Russia. This will be accomplished through the analysis of Y-chromosome variation in indigenous Chelkan, Tubular, Kumandin, and Altai-kizhi ethnic groups, as well as the Altaian Kazakhs, and the comparison of data from these Altaian groups with those observed in other native Siberian, East Asian, Central Asian and New World populations through phylogenetic and statistical methods. The resulting data will help to clarify the history of the Altai-Sayan region of Siberia, and elucidate the role played by ancestral Altaian populations in the initial settlement of Siberia, as well as the peopling of East Asia and the Americas. This study will further explore the genetic consequences of the expansions of populations speaking Mongolic and Turkic languages, in the context of Siberian population histories. This study will add new molecular data from under-sampled locations and indigenous populations that are important for understanding Altaian, and more generally, Siberian population history. Such information is also important for understanding Native American population history, since it is known that humans populated the New World largely by moving through Siberia and into North America. In addition, this project will explore the role that culture, language and tribal social structure may have played in shaping genetic variation in these groups. The Y-chromosome analysis outlined in this project will contribute to a larger study involving the analysis of several independent genetic systems and markers, including the mtDNA, the X-chromosome and numerous autosomal SNP markers. In fact, analyses of mtDNA variation in Altaian groups, in which Matthew Dulik has been involved, have revealed differences between northern (Chelkan, Tubular, Kumandin) and southern (Altai-kizhi) Altaian populations, as well as distinctions between each northern Altai group. Moreover, the mtDNA data reveal intriguing maternal genetic links between the Altai-Sayan region and other parts of Siberia and East Asia. It is anticipated that the Y-chromosome data will further elaborate these patterns, and also provide a complementary view of male genetic history in northern Eurasia. The collaborative nature of this project will greatly facilitate the learning experiences of its participants and enlarge their understanding of the history of Siberia, North Eurasia and North America. This project involves collaborations with scientists in the United States, Canada, and Russia, where other genetic markers, samples and demographic data are being analyzed. The educational opportunities provided by this study for undergraduate and graduate students are extensive.