Genetic landscape of Gullah African Americans.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Gullah African Americans are descendants of formerly enslaved Africans living in the Sea Islands along the coast of the southeastern U.S., from North Carolina to Florida. Their relatively high numbers and geographic isolation were conducive to the development and preservation of a unique culture that retains deep African features. Although historical evidence supports a West-Central African ancestry for the Gullah, linguistic and cultural evidence of a connection to Sierra Leone has led to the suggestion of this country/region as their ancestral home. This study sought to elucidate the genetic structure and ancestry of the Gullah.

Materials and methods

We leveraged whole-genome genotype data from Gullah, African Americans from Jackson, Mississippi, African populat

SUBMITTER: Zimmerman KD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8286328 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature