European Roma groups show complex West Eurasian admixture footprints and a common South Asian genetic origin.

ABSTRACT: The Roma population is the largest transnational ethnic minority in Europe, characterized by a linguistic, cultural and historical heterogeneity. Comparative linguistics and genetic studies have placed the origin of European Roma in the Northwest of India. After their migration across Persia, they entered into the Balkan Peninsula, from where they spread into Europe, arriving in the Iberian Peninsula in the 15th century. Their particular demographic history has genetic implications linked to rare and common diseases. However, the South Asian source of the proto-Roma remains still untargeted and the West Eurasian Roma component has not been yet deeply characterized. Here, in order to describe both the South Asian and West Eurasian ancestries, we analyze previously published genome-wide data

SUBMITTER: Font-Porterias N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6779411 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature