| 1. |
- Breton, Gwenna, et al.
(författare)
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Deciphering early human history using Approximate Bayesian Computation and 74 whole genomes from Central and Southern Africa
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Human evolutionary history in Africa before and after the out-of-Africa event remains largely unexplored, due to lack of genome sequence data, limited representation of populations and limitations of presently available inference methods. We generated high-coverage genomes from 49 Central African individuals, from five rainforest hunter-gatherer populations and four neighboring populations, and from 25 Khoe-San individuals, from five populations. We analyzed these genomes jointly with 104 comparative genomes from worldwide populations. We showed that rainforest hunter-gatherers and Khoe-San populations define two distinct major axes of genetic variation both at the worldwide and Sub-Saharan scales. This new data provides unprecedented resolution to unravel complex genetic differentiation among rainforest hunter-gatherer populations in particular. Using both deterministic and Approximate Bayesian Computation inferences, we found strong support for gene flow throughout the entire history of Central and Southern Africa, and an early divergence, some 250-370 kya ago, of Khoe-San ancestors from the lineage ancestral to all Central African populations. This event was followed, still in the presence of gene-flow, some 80-240 kya, by the divergence of lineages ancestral to rainforest hunter-gatherers and their neighbors. Finally, divergence between the different Khoe-San populations likely predated that of eastern and western rainforest hunter-gatherers which occurred 16-44 kya. Altogether, our results indicate that a tree-like history of Central Africa incorporating gene-flow among ancient lineages as well as among recent lineages can explain genomic variation observed among populations today.
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| 2. |
- Breton, Gwenna, et al.
(författare)
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Lactase Persistence Alleles Reveal Partial East African Ancestry of Southern African Khoe Pastoralists
- 2014
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Ingår i: Current Biology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0960-9822 .- 1879-0445. ; 24:8, s. 852-858
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The ability to digest milk into adulthood, lactase persistence (LP), as well as specific genetic variants associated with LP, is heterogeneously distributed in global populations [1-4]. These variants were most likely targets of selection when some populations converted from hunter-gatherer to pastoralist or farming lifestyles [5-7]. Specific LP polymorphisms are associated with particular geographic regions and populations [1-4, 8-10]; however, they have not been extensively studied in southern Africa. We investigate the LP-regulatory region in 267 individuals from 13 southern African populations (including descendants of hunter-gatherers, pastoralists, and agropastoralists), providing the first comprehensive study of the LP-regulatory region in a large group of southern Africans. The "East African" LP single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) (14010G>C) was found at high frequency (>20%) in a strict pastoralist Khoe population, the Nama of Namibia, suggesting a connection to East Africa, whereas the "European" LP SNP (13910C>T) was found in populations of mixed ancestry. Using genome-wide data from various African populations, we identify admixture (13%) in the Nama, from an Afro-Asiatic group dating to >1,300 years ago, with the remaining fraction of their genomes being from San hunter-gatherers. We also find evidence of selection around the LCT gene among Khoe-speaking groups, and the substantial frequency of the 14010C variant among the Nama is best explained by adaptation to digesting milk. These genome-local and genome-wide results support a model in which an East African group brought pastoralist practices to southern Africa and admixed with local hunter-gatherers to form the ancestors of Khoe people.
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| 3. |
- Breton, Gwenna, et al.
(författare)
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The “BaTwa” populations from remote areas in Zambia retain ancestry of past forager groups
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Sub-equatorial Africa is inhabited today predominantly by Bantu-speaking farmers of west African descent. However, before the arrival of agriculture and pastoralism ~2,000 years ago, the region was inhabited by hunter-gatherers. The incoming farmer populations replaced, displaced or admixed with local hunter-gatherer groups. In some regions such as southern and central Africa, current-day farming populations have absorbed a large local hunter-gatherer genetic component. In other regions, such as Malawi, and Mozambique current-day populations have absorbed little to none of the local component. In this study, we generated genome-wide SNP data from two populations from Zambia thought to represent former hunter-gatherers, known locally as “BaTwa”, but for which no direct evidence exists of a hunter-gatherer past, either in language or lifestyle. We compared the BaTwa data to three Bantu-speaker agropastoralist populations from Zambia, and to other African and non-African populations. We show that the two BaTwa populations harbor a hunter-gatherer-like genetic component, representing respectively ~20% and ~30% of their genetic ancestry, while the rest is similar to Bantu-speaker agropastoralists. Although the component is closest related to current-day Khoe-San populations from southern Africa, results still suggest a unique local hunter-gatherer component. These results accord with Middle and Late Holocene skeletal evidence from Zambia and Malawi for a regionally separate hunter-gatherer population, which is now only detectable among the BaTwa. A two-way admixture scenario between a Bantu-speaker agropastoralist-like source and a hunter-gatherer-like source is supported for the two populations, occurring ~40 and ~16 generations ago respectively. These estimates are consistent with archaeological records for the arrival of agropastoralists in northern and central Zambia respectively. The study demonstrate the value of studying underrepresented minority groups to better understand the complexity of regional population histories.
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| 4. |
- Fortes-Lima, Cesar A., PhD, 1985-, et al.
(författare)
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Population structure and admixture during the expansion of Bantu-speaking peoples across sub-Saharan Africa
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The migration of Bantu-speaking groups out of West Africa, thought to have started around 4 000 years ago, is known as the Bantu expansion. This movement of people changed the genetic landscape of sub-equatorial Africa. To investigate the demographic history and population structure in Bantu-speaking populations (BSP), we genotyped 1,740 individuals, including 1,487 Bantu speakers from 143 populations across 13 sub-Saharan African countries. We find patterns of fine-scale population structure that correlate with linguistics and geography. Bantu speakers received significant amounts of admixture through interaction with local groups from the regions that they expanded into. Spatial modeling indicated possible migration corridors during the Bantu-expansion. Inferences based on modern-day genomes, however, need to be supported by ancient DNA studies. We demonstrated the utility of our dataset as an exhaustive modern-day African comparative dataset for ancient DNA studies by comparing our data to published aDNA studies. By gathering the largest set of genome-wide data to date, enriched with new data from previously unsampled regions and people, we shed new light on the intricacies of the Bantu expansion.
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| 5. |
- Fortes-Lima, Cesar A., PhD, 1985-, et al.
(författare)
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The genetic legacy of the expansion of Bantu-speaking peoples in Africa
- 2024
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Nature. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 625:7995, s. 540-547
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The expansion of people speaking Bantu languages is the most dramatic demographic event in Late Holocene Africa and fundamentally reshaped the linguistic, cultural and biological landscape of the continent1-7. With a comprehensive genomic dataset, including newly generated data of modern-day and ancient DNA from previously unsampled regions in Africa, we contribute insights into this expansion that started 6,000-4,000 years ago in western Africa. We genotyped 1,763 participants, including 1,526 Bantu speakers from 147 populations across 14 African countries, and generated whole-genome sequences from 12 Late Iron Age individuals8. We show that genetic diversity amongst Bantu-speaking populations declines with distance from western Africa, with current-day Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo as possible crossroads of interaction. Using spatially explicit methods9 and correlating genetic, linguistic and geographical data, we provide cross-disciplinary support for a serial-founder migration model. We further show that Bantu speakers received significant gene flow from local groups in regions they expanded into. Our genetic dataset provides an exhaustive modern-day African comparative dataset for ancient DNA studies10 and will be important to a wide range of disciplines from science and humanities, as well as to the medical sector studying human genetic variation and health in African and African-descendant populations.
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| 6. |
- Hammarén, Rickard, et al.
(författare)
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Ancestry contributions within geographically dispersed South African Coloured groups
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The South African Coloured people (SAC) are the most prominent admixed population in the country. They are descendants of local Khoe-San, and Bantu-speaking populations, European settlers, and enslaved people from the East and West Coast of Africa, South and East Asia, brought during the slave trade period. The term "Coloured" was an artificial category used by the South African apartheid government to group various groups with mixed ancestry. The term is still widely used today and is one of the ethnic categories in the South African government census. While the term is embraced by some people categorised as Coloured, it is rejected by others. This study aimed to investigate the remnant Khoekhoe and San genetic ancestry within various Coloured groups together with other ancestries introduced during colonial times. We generated novel genotyping, mtDNA, and Y-chromosome data for 65 individuals at two locations and, together with data from previously published studies, we assembled a dataset of 222 SAC individuals from 17 different geographic locations. This study has gathered the most extensive dataset of SAC individuals sampled from the largest number of sites to date. At 14 out of the 17 locations, Khoe-San was the majority ancestry. The Coloured populations display genetic ancestry from Khoe-San, West African, East African, East Asian, South Asian, and European groups at vastly varying amounts across the sampled locations, reflecting the history of South Africa, apartheid laws, and socio-cultural groupings. The ancestry proportions from different source populations differ by large fractions between the autosomes and uni-parental markers, which points to sex-biased admixture in the Coloured.This research highlights the importance of studying the South African Coloured population to comprehend the impact of complex migration patterns and historical systems of segregation in South Africa.
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| 7. |
- Lombard, Marlize, et al.
(författare)
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Bridging disciplines to better elucidate the evolution of early Homo sapiens in southern Africa
- 2013
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Ingår i: South African Journal of Science. - : Academy of Science of South Africa. - 0038-2353 .- 1996-7489. ; 109:11-12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Elucidating the history of Homo sapiens has been a passion shared by many researchers spanning several decades. There are now overwhelming lines of evidence from genetic, archaeological, palaeoanthropological and, to some extent, palaeoenvironmental research, that place Africa as the region of origin of our species. The different fields of study use diverse types of data, and methods are subject to variances introduced by mutation rates, time estimates and/or sampling biases. All of these approaches have their respective shortcomings and error ranges and are accompanied by intense debate. Yet, it is timeous to review the most recent and salient highlights that the different approaches are contributing towards explaining our deep history and ancestry. It is, after all, one history, and consequently, there ought to be several convergent patterns between data sets. Our focus is to present an updated regional synthesis from each discipline for a specific window in time within the southern African context, namely between similar to 160 ka and 85 ka, and to speculate about possible connections between data sets for this period. Even though our focus is specific in time and space, it is not intended to consider southern Africa in isolation from the rest of Africa or to suggest a singular 'origins' locale for modern Homo sapiens. We hope that this integrated approach will stimulate discussions to include broader time periods within Africa and between continents.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
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| 10. |
- Naidoo, Thijessen, et al.
(författare)
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Y-Chromosome Variation in Southern African Khoe-San Populations Based on Whole-Genome Sequences
- 2020
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Ingår i: Genome Biology and Evolution. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1759-6653. ; 12:7, s. 1031-1039
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Although the human Y chromosome has effectively shown utility in uncovering facets of human evolution and population histories, the ascertainment bias present in early Y-chromosome variant data sets limited the accuracy of diversity and TMRCA estimates obtained from them. The advent of next-generation sequencing, however, has removed this bias and allowed for the discovery of thousands of new variants for use in improving the Y-chromosome phylogeny and computing estimates that are more accurate. Here, we describe the high-coverage sequencing of the whole Y chromosome in a data set of 19 male Khoe-San individuals in comparison with existing whole Y-chromosome sequence data. Due to the increased resolution, we potentially resolve the source of haplogroup B-P70 in the Khoe-San, and reconcile recently published haplogroup A-M51 data with the most recent version of the ISOGG Y-chromosome phylogeny. Our results also improve the positioning of tentatively placed new branches of the ISOGG Y-chromosome phylogeny. The distribution of major Y-chromosome haplogroups in the Khoe-San and other African groups coincide with the emerging picture of African demographic history; with E-M2 linked to the agriculturalist Bantu expansion, E-M35 linked to pastoralist eastern African migrations, B-M112 linked to earlier east-south gene flow, A-M14 linked to shared ancestry with central African rainforest hunter-gatherers, and A-M51 potentially unique to the Khoe-San.
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| 11. |
- Owers, Katharine A., et al.
(författare)
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Adaptation to infectious disease exposure in indigenous Southern African populations
- 2017
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Biological Sciences. - : ROYAL SOC. - 0962-8452 .- 1471-2954. ; 284:1852
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Genetic analyses can provide information about human evolutionary history that cannot always be gleaned from other sources. We evaluated evidence of selective pressure due to introduced infectious diseases in the genomes of two indigenous southern African San groups-the double dagger Khomani who had abundant contact with other people migrating into the region and the more isolated Ju vertical bar'hoansi. We used a dual approach to test for increased selection on immune genes compared with the rest of the genome in these groups. First, we calculated summary values of statistics that measure genomic signatures of adaptation to contrast selection signatures in immune genes and all genes. Second, we located regions of the genome with extreme values of three selection statistics and examined these regions for enrichment of immune genes. We found stronger and more abundant signals of selection in immune genes in the double dagger Khomani than in the Ju vertical bar'hoansi. We confirm this finding within each population to avoid effects of different demographic histories of the two populations. We identified eight immune genes that have potentially been targets of strong selection in the double dagger Khomani, whereas in the Juj'hoansi, no immune genes were found in the genomic regions with the strongest signals of selection. We suggest that the more abundant signatures of selection at immune genes in the double dagger Khomani could be explained by their more frequent contact with immigrant groups, which likely led to increased exposure and adaptation to introduced infectious diseases.
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| 12. |
- Schlebusch, Carina, 1977-, et al.
(författare)
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Khoe-San Genomes Reveal Unique Variation and Confirm the Deepest Population Divergence in Homo sapiens
- 2020
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Ingår i: Molecular biology and evolution. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0737-4038 .- 1537-1719. ; 37:10, s. 2944-2954
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The southern African indigenous Khoe-San populations harbor the most divergent lineages of all living peoples. Exploring their genomes is key to understanding deep human history. We sequenced 25 full genomes from five Khoe-San populations, revealing many novel variants, that 25% of variants are unique to the Khoe-San, and that the Khoe-San group harbors the greatest level of diversity across the globe. In line with previous studies, we found several gene regions with extreme values in genome-wide scans for selection, potentially caused by natural selection in the lineage leading to Homo sapiens and more recent in time. These gene regions included immunity-, sperm-, brain-, diet-, and muscle-related genes. When accounting for recent admixture, all Khoe-San groups display genetic diversity approaching the levels in other African groups and a reduction in effective population size starting around 100,000 years ago. Hence, all human groups show a reduction in effective population size commencing around the time of the Out-of-Africa migrations, which coincides with changes in the paleoclimate records, changes that potentially impacted all humans at the time.
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| 13. |
- Schlebusch, Carina M., et al.
(författare)
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Extensive Population Structure in San, Khoe, and Mixed Ancestry Populations from Southern Africa Revealed by 44 Short 5-SNP Haplotypes
- 2012
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Ingår i: Human Biology. - : Human Biology (The International Journal of Population Biology and Genetics). - 0018-7143 .- 1534-6617. ; 84:6, s. 695-724
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The San and Khoe people currently represent remnant groups of a much larger and widely distributed population of hunter-gatherers and pastoralists who had exclusive occupation of southern Africa before the arrival of Bantu-speaking groups in the past 1,200 years and sea-borne immigrants within the last 350 years. Genetic studies [mitochondrial deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and Y-chromosome] conducted on San and Khoe groups revealed that they harbor some of the most divergent lineages found in living peoples throughout the world. Recently, high-density, autosomal, single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-array studies confirmed the early divergence of Khoe-San population groups from all other human populations. The present study made use of 220 autosomal SNP markers (in the format of both haplotypes and genotypes) to examine the population structure of various San and Khoe groups and their relationship to other neighboring groups. Whereas analyses based on the genotypic SNP data only supported the division of the included populations into three main groups-Khoe-San, Bantu-speakers, and non-African populations-haplotype analyses revealed finer structure within Khoe-San populations. By the use of only 44 short SNP haplotypes (compiled from a total of 220 SNPs), most of the Khoe-San groups could be resolved as separate groups by applying STRUCTURE analyses. Therefore, by carefully selecting a few SNPs and combining them into haplotypes, we were able to achieve the same level of population distinction that was achieved previously in high-density SNP studies on the same population groups. Using haplotypes proved to be a very efficient and cost-effective way to study population structure.
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| 14. |
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| 15. |
- Schlebusch, Carina M., et al.
(författare)
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Genomic Variation in Seven Khoe-San Groups Reveals Adaptation and Complex African History
- 2012
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Ingår i: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 338:6105, s. 374-379
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The history of click-speaking Khoe-San, and African populations in general, remains poorly understood. We genotyped ∼2.3 million SNPs in 220 southern Africans and found that the Khoe-San diverged from other populations ≥100,000 years ago, but structure within the Khoe-San dated back to about 35,000 years ago. Genetic variation in various sub-Saharan populations did not localize the origin of modern humans to a single geographic region within Africa; instead, it indicated a history of admixture and stratification. We found evidence of adaptation targeting muscle function and immune response, potential adaptive introgression of UV-light protection, and selection predating modern human diversification involving skeletal and neurological development. These new findings illustrate the importance of African genomic diversity in understanding human evolutionary history.
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| 16. |
- Schlebusch, Carina M., et al.
(författare)
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MtDNA control region variation affirms diversity and deep sub-structure in populations from southern Africa
- 2013
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Ingår i: BMC Evolutionary Biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2148. ; 13, s. 56-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: The current San and Khoe populations are remnant groups of a much larger and widely dispersed population of hunter-gatherers and pastoralists, who had exclusive occupation of southern Africa before the influx of Bantu-speakers from 2 ka (ka = kilo annum [thousand years] old/ago) and sea-borne immigrants within the last 350 years. Here we use mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) to examine the population structure of various San and Khoe groups, including seven different Khoe-San groups (Ju/'hoansi, !Xun, /Gui+//Gana, Khwe, not equal Khomani, Nama and Karretjie People), three different Coloured groups and seven other comparative groups. MtDNA hyper variable segments I and II (HVS I and HVS II) together with selected mtDNA coding region SNPs were used to assign 538 individuals to 18 haplogroups encompassing 245 unique haplotypes. Data were further analyzed to assess haplogroup histories and the genetic affinities of the various San, Khoe and Coloured populations. Where possible, we tentatively contextualize the genetic trends through time against key trends known from the archaeological record. Results: The most striking observation from this study was the high frequencies of the oldest mtDNA haplogroups (L0d and L0k) that can be traced back in time to similar to 100 ka, found at high frequencies in Khoe-San and sampled Coloured groups. Furthermore, the L0d/k sub-haplogroups were differentially distributed in the different Khoe-San and Coloured groups and had different signals of expansion, which suggested different associated demographic histories. When populations were compared to each other, San groups from the northern parts of southern Africa (Ju speaking: !Xun, Ju/'hoansi and Khoe-speaking: /Gui+//Gana) grouped together and southern groups (historically Tuu speaking: not equal Khomani and Karretjie People and some Coloured groups) grouped together. The Khoe group (Nama) clustered with the southern Khoe-San and Coloured groups. The Khwe mtDNA profile was very different from other Khoe-San groups with high proportions of Bantu-speaking admixture but also unique distributions of other mtDNA lineages. Conclusions: On the whole, the research reported here presented new insights into the multifaceted demographic history that shaped the existing genetic landscape of the Khoe-San and Coloured populations of southern Africa.
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| 17. |
- Schlebusch, Carina M., et al.
(författare)
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The disappearing San of southeastern Africa and their genetic affinities
- 2016
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Ingår i: Human Genetics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0340-6717 .- 1432-1203. ; 135:12, s. 1365-1373
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Southern Africa was likely exclusively inhabited by San hunter-gatherers before similar to 2000 years ago. Around that time, East African groups assimilated with local San groups and gave rise to the Khoekhoe herders. Subsequently, Bantu-speaking farmers, arriving from the north (similar to 1800 years ago), assimilated and displaced San and Khoekhoe groups, a process that intensified with the arrival of European colonists similar to 350 years ago. In contrast to the western parts of southern Africa, where several Khoe-San groups still live today, the eastern parts are largely populated by Bantu speakers and individuals of non-African descent. Only a few scattered groups with oral traditions of Khoe-San ancestry remain. Advances in genetic research open up new ways to understand the population history of southeastern Africa. We investigate the genomic variation of the remaining individuals from two South African groups with oral histories connecting them to eastern San groups, i.e., the San from Lake Chrissie and the Duma San of the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg. Using similar to 2.2 million genetic markers, combined with comparative published data sets, we show that the Lake Chrissie San have genetic ancestry from both Khoe-San (likely the parallel to Xegwi San) and Bantu speakers. Specifically, we found that the Lake Chrissie San are closely related to the current southern San groups (i.e., the Karretjie people). Duma San individuals, on the other hand, were genetically similar to southeastern Bantu speakers from South Africa. This study illustrates how genetic tools can be used to assess hypotheses about the ancestry of people who seemingly lost their historic roots, only recalling a vague oral tradition of their origin.
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| 18. |
- Schlebusch, Carina, 1977-, et al.
(författare)
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Southern African ancient genomes estimate modern human divergence to 350,000 to 260,000 years ago
- 2017
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Ingår i: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 358:6363, s. 652-655
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Southern Africa is consistently placed as a potential region for the evolution of Homo sapiens We present genome sequences, up to 13x coverage, from seven ancient individuals from KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The remains of three Stone Age hunter-gatherers (about 2000 years old) were genetically similar to current-day southern San groups, and those of four Iron Age farmers (300 to 500 years old) were genetically similar to present-day Bantu-language speakers. We estimate that all modern-day Khoe-San groups have been influenced by 9 to 30% genetic admixture from East Africans/Eurasians. Using traditional and new approaches, we estimate the first modern human population divergence time to between 350,000 and 260,000 years ago. This estimate increases the deepest divergence among modern humans, coinciding with anatomical developments of archaic humans into modern humans, as represented in the local fossil record.
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| 19. |
- Vicente, Mário, et al.
(författare)
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Male-biased migration from East Africa introduced pastoralism into southern Africa
- 2021
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Ingår i: BMC Biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1741-7007. ; 19:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Hunter-gatherer lifestyles dominated the southern African landscape up to ~ 2000 years ago, when herding and farming groups started to arrive in the area. First, herding and livestock, likely of East African origin, appeared in southern Africa, preceding the arrival of the large-scale Bantu-speaking agro-pastoralist expansion that introduced West African-related genetic ancestry into the area. Present-day Khoekhoe-speaking Namaqua (or Nama in short) pastoralists show high proportions of East African admixture, linking the East African ancestry with Khoekhoe herders. Most other historical Khoekhoe populations have, however, disappeared over the last few centuries and their contribution to the genetic structure of present-day populations is not well understood. In our study, we analyzed genome-wide autosomal and full mitochondrial data from a population who trace their ancestry to the Khoekhoe-speaking Hessequa herders from the southern Cape region of what is now South Africa.Results: We generated genome-wide data from 162 individuals and mitochondrial DNA data of a subset of 87 individuals, sampled in the Western Cape Province, South Africa, where the Hessequa population once lived. Using available comparative data from Khoe-speaking and related groups, we aligned genetic date estimates and admixture proportions to the archaeological proposed dates and routes for the arrival of the East African pastoralists in southern Africa. We identified several Afro-Asiatic-speaking pastoralist groups from Ethiopia and Tanzania who share high affinities with the East African ancestry present in southern Africa. We also found that the East African pastoralist expansion was heavily male-biased, akin to a pastoralist migration previously observed on the genetic level in ancient Europe, by which Pontic-Caspian Steppe pastoralist groups represented by the Yamnaya culture spread across the Eurasian continent during the late Neolithic/Bronze Age.Conclusion: We propose that pastoralism in southern Africa arrived through male-biased migration of an East African Afro-Asiatic-related group(s) who introduced new subsistence and livestock practices to local southern African hunter-gatherers. Our results add to the understanding of historical human migration and mobility in Africa, connected to the spread of food-producing and livestock practices.
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