Recovering mitochondrial DNA lineages of extinct Amerindian nations in extant homopatric Brazilian populations.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Brazilian Amerindians have experienced a drastic population decrease in the past 500 years. Indeed, many native groups from eastern Brazil have vanished. However, their mitochondrial mtDNA haplotypes, still persist in Brazilians, at least 50 million of whom carry Amerindian mitochondrial lineages. Our objective was to test whether, by analyzing extant rural populations from regions anciently occupied by specific Amerindian groups, we could identify potentially authentic mitochondrial lineages, a strategy we have named 'homopatric targeting'.

Results

We studied 173 individuals from Queixadinha, a small village located in a territory previously occupied by the now extinct Botocudo Amerindian nation. Pedigree analysis revealed 74 unrelated matrilineages, which were s

SUBMITTER: Goncalves VF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3014906 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature