Genetic Evolution in South Indian Populations

印度拥有世界六分之一的人口，其人口蕴藏着巨大的基因多样性。然而，印度进行的现代分子人类学研究相对较少。在之前的资助下，研究人员对南印度的种姓人口进行了广泛的分子分析。这些研究表明，历史过程(即已知的种姓内和种姓之间的交配模式)在我们的基因上留下了明显的印记。这鼓励对遗传变异的进一步研究，以了解更多关于人类种群的历史。研究人员目前正在对印度鲜为人知的“部落”人口中的300人进行分析。这些人特别有趣，因为他们被认为是一些印度最早居民的后代。通过研究这些人口，研究人员将更多地了解印度次大陆的早期史前。印度的原始居民是来自非洲、澳大利亚还是其他地方？将这些种群的遗传变异与种姓人口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年前由印欧侵略者强加的。尤其令人感兴趣的是，入侵者是否侵占了高种姓地位，并将现有的说德拉威甸语的人和部落人口降级为低种姓地位(初步调查结果支持这一假设，但范围还不够广泛，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，这些信息正在迅速丢失或被同化。

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.