Maternal traces of deep common ancestry and asymmetric gene flow between Pygmy hunter-gatherers and Bantu-speaking farmers.

ABSTRACT: Two groups of populations with completely different lifestyles-the Pygmy hunter-gatherers and the Bantu-speaking farmers-coexist in Central Africa. We investigated the origins of these two groups and the interactions between them, by analyzing mtDNA variation in 1,404 individuals from 20 farming populations and 9 Pygmy populations from Central Africa, with the aim of shedding light on one of the most fascinating cultural transitions in human evolution (the transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture). Our data indicate that this region was colonized gradually, with an initial L1c-rich ancestral population ultimately giving rise to current-day farmers, who display various L1c clades, and to Pygmies, in whom L1c1a is the only surviving clade. Detailed phylogenetic analysis of comple

SUBMITTER: Quintana-Murci L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2234190 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature