Y-chromosome haplotypes and clan structure of the Sherpa of the Solukhumbu (Nepal)
Preliminary Ethnogenetic Considerations
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6135534 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Irene Amoruso (0000-0003-4954-5848, University of Padua), Luciana Caenazzo (0000-0003-3142-2874, University of Padua, Deptartment of Molecular Medicine—Legal Medicine Unit, Padova), Silvano Presciuttini (University of Pisa), Elisa Gregianin (University of Padua), Andrea Bozzato (0000-0001-6409-1683, University of Padua), Gianumberto Caravello (University of Padua) |
| Year | 2013 |
| Volume | 121 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 75-83 |
| Publication date | 2013-01-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Anthropological Science (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0918-7960 • E-ISSN: 1348-8570 |
| Publisher | Anthropological Society of Nippon (PUBLISHER • JP) |
| DOI | 10.1537/ase.121122 |
| OpenAlex | W2017092650 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 18 |
The present-day Sherpa are thought to descend from a small number of ancestors that settled in Nepal several centuries ago, coming from the Eastern Tibetan region of Kham. A generally accepted ethnographic theory involves the out-of-Kham migration of four proto-clans between the 15th and 16th centuries. Traditional Sherpa society is still divided into clans, called ru, which are patrilin-early transmitted. Ru therefore roughly correspond to the surnames of Western societies: males of the same ru are expected to share identical Y-chromosome haplotypes. However, multiple origins of ru and/or frequent gene flow of male lineages from neighbouring populations can complicate the genealogical structure. In the present work, 25 male Sherpas of the Solukhumbu district were typed for the 17 Y-chromosomal short tandem repeats included in the AmpFlSTR® YfilerTM kit. Seventeen different haplotypes were found; 12 were unique. A phylogenetic tree was then drawn from the pairwise mutational distance matrix with a neighbour-joining algorithm. Branching reliability was also assessed through bootstrap analysis. Two macro-clusters of haplotypes were found, ascribable on the whole to two out of four of the presumed Tibetan proto-ru, the Thimmi and the Minyagpa. However, the Minyagpa macro-cluster was found to be bipartite in terms of haplogroups, being composed by two distinct haplotype clusters. Clustering of the contributors by birthplace was also performed, suggesting a differential ru spatial distribution between upper Khumbu and lower Solu. Khumbu seems predominantly populated by newer clans and putative descendants of the Thimmi proto-ru, whereas Solu is mostly inhabited by members of the Minyagpa proto-ru
Allele · Biology · Clan · Evolutionary biology · Gene · Genealogy · Geography · Haplogroup · Haplotype · Lineage (genetic · Phylogenetic tree · Sociology · Anthropology · Forensic and Genetic Research · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies · History · South Asian Studies and Conflicts · Genetics
| Highly cited | No |
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