Genome-wide data from the Bubi of Bioko Island clarifies the Atlantic fringe of the Bantu dispersal.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Bioko is one of the few islands that exist around Africa, the most genetically diverse continent on the planet. The native Bantu-speaking inhabitants of Bioko, the Bubi, are believed to have colonized the island about 2000 years ago. Here, we sequenced the genome of thirteen Bubi individuals at high coverage and analysed their sequences in comparison to mainland populations from the Gulf of Guinea.

Results

We found that, genetically, the closest mainland population to the Bubi are Bantu-speaking groups from Angola instead the geographically closer groups from Cameroon. The Bubi possess a lower proportion of rainforest hunter-gatherer (RHG) ancestry than most other Bantu-speaking groups. However, their RHG component most likely came from the same source and could h

SUBMITTER: Gelabert P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6404284 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature