Hainan Island is located around the conjunction of East Asia and Southeast Asia, and during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) was connected with the mainland. This provided an opportunity for the colonization of Hainan Island by modern human in the Upper Pleistocene.

Whether the ancient dispersal left any footprints in the contemporary gene pool of Hainan islanders is in a hot debate. 

A research report on the BMC Evolutionary Biology 2011 provided a perspective of the legacy of the early Hainan Islanders from mitochondrial DNA.
 
Scientists collected samples from 285 Li individuals and analyzed mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variations of hypervariable sequence I and II (HVS-I and II), as well as partial coding regions. By incorporating previously reported data, the phylogeny of Hainan islanders was reconstructed. 

 

They found that Hainan islanders showed close relationship with the populations in mainland southern China, especially from Guangxi. Haplotype sharing analyses suggested that the recent gene flow from the mainland might play important roles in shaping the maternal pool of Hainan islanders.

More importantly, haplogroups M12, M7e, and M7c1* might represent the genetic relics of the ancient population that populated this region; and 14 representative complete mtDNA genomes were further sequenced.
 

Conclusions: The detailed phylogeographic analyses of haplogroups M12, M7e, and M7c1* indicated that the early peopling of Hainan Island by modern human could be traced back to the early Holocene and/or even the late Upper Pleistocene, around 7 – 27 kya. These results correspond to both Y-chromosome and archaeological studies.

 

Author: Min-Sheng PengJun-Dong HeHai-Xin LiuYa-Ping Zhang
Credits/Source: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2011, 11:46 
 
SOURCE: 7thspace.com

 
Editorial Message 
This site contains materials from other clearly stated media sources for the purpose of discussion stimulation and content enrichment among our members only. 


whatsonsanya.com does not necessarily endorse their views or the accuracy of their content. For copyright infringement issues please contact editor@whatsonsanya.com