Tracing the legacy of the early Hainan Islanders--a perspective from mitochondrial DNA.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Hainan Island is located around the conjunction of East Asia and Southeast Asia, and during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) was connected with the mainland. This provided an opportunity for the colonization of Hainan Island by modern human in the Upper Pleistocene. Whether the ancient dispersal left any footprints in the contemporary gene pool of Hainan islanders is debatable.

Results

We collected samples from 285 Li individuals and analyzed mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variations of hypervariable sequence I and II (HVS-I and II), as well as partial coding regions. By incorporating previously reported data, the phylogeny of Hainan islanders was reconstructed. We found that Hainan islanders showed a close relationship with the populations in mainland southern China, es

SUBMITTER: Peng MS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3048540 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature