Genetic Affinities and Adaptation of the South-West Coast Populations of India

Abstract

Evolutionary event has not only altered the genetic structure of human populations but also associated with social and cultural transformation. South Asian populations were the result of migration and admixture of genetically and culturally diverse groups. Most of the genetic studies pointed to large-scale admixture events between Ancestral North Indian (ANI) and Ancestral South Indian (ASI) groups, also additional layers of recent admixture. In the present study, we have analyzed 213 individuals inhabited in South-west coast India with traditional warriors and feudal lord status and historically associated with migratory events from North/North West India and possible admixture with West Eurasian populations, whose genetic links are still missing. Analysis of autosomal Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) markers suggests that these groups possibly derived their ancestry from some groups of North West India having additional Middle Eastern genetic components. Higher distribution of West Eurasian mitochondrial haplogroups also points to female-mediated admixture. Estimation of Effective Migration Surface (EEMS) analysis indicates Central India and Godavari basin as a crucial transition zone for population migration from North and North West India to South-west coastal India. Selection screen using 3 distinct outlier-based approaches revealed genetic signatures related to Immunity and protection from Viral infections. Thus, our study suggests that the South-west coastal groups with traditional warriors and feudal lords' status are of a distinct lineage compared to Dravidian and Gangetic plain Indo-Europeans and are remnants of very early migrations from North West India following the Godavari basin to Karnataka and Kerala.

Keywords: Gangetic plain; Godavari basin; Indo-Europeans; South-west coast; autosomal SNP; feudal lord.