Distinguishing human ethnic groups by means of sequences from Helicobacter pylori: lessons from Ladakh.

ABSTRACT: The history of mankind remains one of the most challenging fields of study. However, the emergence of anatomically modern humans has been so recent that only a few genetically informative polymorphisms have accumulated. Here, we show that DNA sequences from Helicobacter pylori, a bacterium that colonizes the stomachs of most humans and is usually transmitted within families, can distinguish between closely related human populations and are superior in this respect to classical human genetic markers. H. pylori from Buddhists and Muslims, the two major ethnic communities in Ladakh (India), differ in their population-genetic structure. Moreover, the prokaryotic diversity is consistent with the Buddhists having arisen from an introgression of Tibetan speakers into an ancient Ladakhi population

SUBMITTER: Wirth T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC387319 | biostudies-literature | 2004 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature