September 02, 2008

YAP in 25 ethnic groups from Yunnan China

YAP defines haplogroup DE of the human Y-chromosome phylogeny, which joins together the haplogroup E, found in Negroids and Caucasoids, with haplogroup D, found mainly among Mongoloids, including the archaic Ainu, but also non-Mongoloid populations such as the Andaman Islanders.

The YAP frequencies listed here are, in all probability mostly of haplogroup D.

Sci China C Life Sci. 2003 Apr;46(2):135-140.

The geographic polymorphisms of Y chromosome at YAP locus among 25 ethnic groups in Yunnan, China.

Shi H, Dong Y, Li W, Yang J, Li K, Zan R, Xiao C.

The genetic polymorphisms of Y chromosome at YAP locus in 25 ethnic groups (33 populations) of China were analyzed in a total of 1294 samples. The average YAP+ frequency of the 33 populations was 9.2%, coinciding with published data of Chinese populations. Primi has the highest YAP+ frequency (72.3%), which is also the highest YAP+ among all the eastern Asian populations studied. The YAP+ occurred in 17 populations studied including Tibetan (36.0%), Naxi (37.5% and 25.5%), Zhuang (21.3%), Jingpo (12.5%), Miao (11.8%), Dai (11.4%, 10.0%, 3.3% and 2.0%), Yi (8.0%), Bai of Yunnan (6.7% and 6.0%), Mongol of Inner Mongolia (4.3%), Tujia of Hunan (2.6%), Yao (2.2%) and Nu (1.8%). The other 15 populations are YAP-including Lahu (2 populations), Hani, Achang, Drung, Lisu, Sui, Bouyei, Va, Bulang, Deang, Man and Hui and Mongol of Yunnan and Bai of Hunan. The YAP+ frequencies varied among the different ethnic groups studied, and even different among the same ethnic group living in different geographic locations. Using the genetic information, combined with the knowledge of ethnology, history and archaeology, the origin and prehistoric migrations of the ethnic groups in China, especially in Yunnan Province were discussed.



Ebizur said...

Wow, it's a blast from the past. I remember reading this study several years ago.

For anyone who doesn't recognize the name, "Primi" is another rendition of the name of the people who are known as "Pumi" (Pumi-zu) in Mandarin, a Qiangic (or "Tangut-Qiang") people who inhabit parts of Sichuan and Yunnan provinces in southwestern China. The Primi/Pumi are a very small ethnic group, with a total population of about 50,000 persons. Their close linguistic relatives, the modern Qiang ethnic group (whose relation to the Qiangs of ancient Chinese histories is not really clear), are concentrated in northwestern Sichuan, right around the area of Wenchuan, where the great earthquake occurred on May 12.

The Naxi (AKA Nakhi AKA Mosuo AKA Moso) people, on the other hand, are somewhat different from the Qiang and Primi/Pumi; the Naxi are generally considered to have a longer presence in the extreme southwest of China (Yunnan), and their language is classified alongside those of the Yi/Yi-zu/Lolos and the Burmese.

I think the most important sentence in this abstract is the following: "The YAP+ frequencies varied among the different ethnic groups studied, and even different among the same ethnic group living in different geographic locations." Thus, we can see that a diversity of sampling locations is absolutely necessary in order for us to obtain an accurate picture of the composition of the haploid genepools of an ethnic group that is spread over an area greater than that of, say, a single village. :P In addition, the composition of one population's haploid genepool should not be used to extrapolate the composition of the haploid genepools of other populations that are hypothesized to be related to that population, because these data clearly show that some Tibeto-Burman groups have extremely high frequencies of DE-YAP+ (e.g. the Pumi), while other Tibeto-Burman groups appear to lack this haplogroup altogether (e.g. the Lahu).

Ebizur said...

Here's some data on the Y-DNA of Qiangs and Hanis from Xue et al., "Male demography in East Asia: a north-south contrast in human population expansion times," Genetics (2006):

3/33 = 9.1% Y*(xA, C, DE, J, K)
6/33 = 18.2% DE-YAP(xE-SRY4064)
5/33 = 15.2% O1a-M119
1/33 = 3.0% O2*-P31(xO2a-M95, O2b-SRY465)
3/33 = 9.1% O2a-M95(xO2a1-M88)
1/33 = 3.0% O2a1-M88
2/33 = 6.1% O3-M122(xO3a-O3e)
1/33 = 3.0% O3-M122+LY1(xM159, M7)
2/33 = 6.1% O3d-M7+LY1rev
4/33 = 12.1% O3e-M134(xO3e1-M117)
3/33 = 9.1% O3e1-M117
2/33 = 6.1% P-92R7(xR1a-SRY10831.2)

1/34 = 2.9% Y*(xA, C, DE, J, K)
6/34 = 17.6% C3-M217(xC3c-M48)
4/34 = 11.8% N*-LLY22g(xN1-M128, N2-P43, N3-Tat)
2/34 = 5.9% O2a-M95(xO2a1-M88)
15/34 = 44.1% O2a1-M88
1/34 = 2.9% O3-M122(xO3a-O3e)
3/34 = 8.8% O3e-M134(xO3e1-M117)
2/34 = 5.9% O3e1-M117

In these data, too, we can see that the various so-called "Tibeto-Burman" populations of southwestern China may have little affinity with each other, at least in regard to their Y-DNA. Most of these populations do seem to have a very high diversity of subclades of haplogroup NO-M214, however, and haplogroup DE-YAP is also quite common in the region.

South Central Haplo said...

Another good paper on less discussed haplogroups Haplgroups like O2.

Not sure what happened to O3 Southern origin or Northern origin argument.

If NO* from SE Asia, O2 concentrated aroud Tibet/Burma/India corridor. O3 also might have come from south.

Looking for the day when Siberia gets eliminated from genetic discussions. Not sure how can a snow tundra is the source of humankind.