Polynesian genetic affinities with southeast Asian populations as identified by mtDNA analysis

Journal Article · Tue Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1995 · American Journal of Human Genetics

OSTI ID:105249

Melton, T; Redd, A J; Stoneking, M ^[1]

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1. Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States); and others

Polynesian genetic affinities to populations of Asia were studied using mtDNA markers. A total of 1,037 individuals from 12 populations were screened for a 9-bp deletion in the intergenic region between the COII and tRNA{sup Lys}genes that approaches fixation in Polynesians. Sequence-specific oligonucleotide probes that identify specific mtDNA control region nucleotide substitutions were used to describe variation in individuals with the 9-bp deletion. The 9-bp deletion was not observed in northern Indians, Bangladeshis, or Pakistanis but was seen at low to moderate frequencies in the nine other Southeast Asian populations. Three substitutions in the control region at positions 16217, 16247 and 16261 have previously been observed at high frequency in Polynesian mtDNAs; this {open_quotes}Polynesian motif{close_quotes} was observed in 20% of east Indonesians with the 9-bp deletion but was observed in only one additional individual. mtDNA types related to the Polynesian motif are highest in frequency in the corridor from Taiwan south through the Philippines and east Indonesia, and the highest diversity for these types is in Taiwan. These results are consistent with linguistic evidence of a Taiwanese origin for the proto-Polynesian expansion, which spread throughout Oceania by way of Indonesia. 37 refs., 3 figs., 4 tabs.

• OSTI ID: 105249
• Journal Information: American Journal of Human Genetics, Journal Name: American Journal of Human Genetics Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 57; ISSN AJHGAG; ISSN 0002-9297
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

55 BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE
BASIC STUDIES
BIOLOGICAL MARKERS
DNA
DNA SEQUENCING
GENE MUTATIONS
GENES
GENOME MUTATIONS
HUMAN POPULATIONS
MITOCHONDRIA
MUTATION FREQUENCY
OCEANIA
OLIGONUCLEOTIDES
POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION
POPULATION DYNAMICS
PROBES