A statistical evaluation of models for the initial settlement of the American continent emphasizes the importance of gene flow with Asia
While there is agreement in that the Bering Strait was the entry point for the initial colonization of the American continent, there is considerable uncertainty regarding the timing and pattern of human migration from Asia to America. In order to perform a statistical assessment of the relative prob...
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Oxford University Press
2009
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fthighwire:oai:open-archive.highwire.org:molbiolevol:msp238v1 2023-05-15T15:44:13+02:00 A statistical evaluation of models for the initial settlement of the American continent emphasizes the importance of gene flow with Asia Ray, N. Wegmann, D. Fagundes, N.J.R. Wang, S. Ruiz-Linares, A. Excoffier, L. 2009-10-05 00:41:45.0 text/html http://mbe.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/msp238v1 https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msp238 en eng Oxford University Press http://mbe.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/msp238v1 http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msp238 Copyright (C) 2009, Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution Research Article TEXT 2009 fthighwire https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msp238 2013-05-27T15:55:35Z While there is agreement in that the Bering Strait was the entry point for the initial colonization of the American continent, there is considerable uncertainty regarding the timing and pattern of human migration from Asia to America. In order to perform a statistical assessment of the relative probability of alternative migration scenarios and to estimate key demographic parameters associated with them, we used an Approximate Bayesian Computation (ABC) framework to analyze a dataset of 401 autosomal microsatellite loci typed in 29 Native American populations. A major finding is that a single, discrete, wave of colonization is highly inconsistent with observed levels of genetic diversity. A scenario with two discrete migration waves is also not supported by the data. The current genetic diversity of Amerindian populations is best explained by a third model involving recurrent gene flow between Asia and America, after initial colonization. We estimate that this colonization involved about 100 individuals and occurred some 13,000 years ago; in agreement with well established archeological data. Text Bering Strait HighWire Press (Stanford University) Bering Strait Molecular Biology and Evolution 27 2 337 345 |
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HighWire Press (Stanford University) |
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English |
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Research Article |
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Research Article Ray, N. Wegmann, D. Fagundes, N.J.R. Wang, S. Ruiz-Linares, A. Excoffier, L. A statistical evaluation of models for the initial settlement of the American continent emphasizes the importance of gene flow with Asia |
topic_facet |
Research Article |
description |
While there is agreement in that the Bering Strait was the entry point for the initial colonization of the American continent, there is considerable uncertainty regarding the timing and pattern of human migration from Asia to America. In order to perform a statistical assessment of the relative probability of alternative migration scenarios and to estimate key demographic parameters associated with them, we used an Approximate Bayesian Computation (ABC) framework to analyze a dataset of 401 autosomal microsatellite loci typed in 29 Native American populations. A major finding is that a single, discrete, wave of colonization is highly inconsistent with observed levels of genetic diversity. A scenario with two discrete migration waves is also not supported by the data. The current genetic diversity of Amerindian populations is best explained by a third model involving recurrent gene flow between Asia and America, after initial colonization. We estimate that this colonization involved about 100 individuals and occurred some 13,000 years ago; in agreement with well established archeological data. |
format |
Text |
author |
Ray, N. Wegmann, D. Fagundes, N.J.R. Wang, S. Ruiz-Linares, A. Excoffier, L. |
author_facet |
Ray, N. Wegmann, D. Fagundes, N.J.R. Wang, S. Ruiz-Linares, A. Excoffier, L. |
author_sort |
Ray, N. |
title |
A statistical evaluation of models for the initial settlement of the American continent emphasizes the importance of gene flow with Asia |
title_short |
A statistical evaluation of models for the initial settlement of the American continent emphasizes the importance of gene flow with Asia |
title_full |
A statistical evaluation of models for the initial settlement of the American continent emphasizes the importance of gene flow with Asia |
title_fullStr |
A statistical evaluation of models for the initial settlement of the American continent emphasizes the importance of gene flow with Asia |
title_full_unstemmed |
A statistical evaluation of models for the initial settlement of the American continent emphasizes the importance of gene flow with Asia |
title_sort |
statistical evaluation of models for the initial settlement of the american continent emphasizes the importance of gene flow with asia |
publisher |
Oxford University Press |
publishDate |
2009 |
url |
http://mbe.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/msp238v1 https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msp238 |
geographic |
Bering Strait |
geographic_facet |
Bering Strait |
genre |
Bering Strait |
genre_facet |
Bering Strait |
op_relation |
http://mbe.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/msp238v1 http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msp238 |
op_rights |
Copyright (C) 2009, Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msp238 |
container_title |
Molecular Biology and Evolution |
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27 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
337 |
op_container_end_page |
345 |
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1766378518308978688 |