Premium
Brazilian quilombos: A repository of Amerindian alleles
Author(s) -
Gontijo Carolina Carvalho,
Guerra Amorim Carlos Eduardo,
Godinho Neide Maria Oliveira,
Toledo Rafaela Cesare Parmezan,
Nunes Adriana,
Silva Wellington,
Fonseca Moura Maria Manuela,
Oliveira José Carlos Coutinho,
Pagotto Rubiani C.,
Nazaré KlautauGuimarães Maria,
Oliveira Silviene Fabiana
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
american journal of human biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.559
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1520-6300
pISSN - 1042-0533
DOI - 10.1002/ajhb.22501
Subject(s) - population , hum , subspecies , genetic diversity , biology , allele , genetic variation , african descent , genetic admixture , genetic genealogy , geography , evolutionary biology , zoology , ethnology , demography , genetics , gene , sociology , history , performance art , art history
Objectives As a consequence of colonization of the Americas and decimation of the native population, an important portion of autochthonous genetic variation has been lost. However, some alleles have been incorporated into the growing populations of admixed mestizos. In this study, we evaluated the potential of African‐derived communities in Brazil to be repositories of Amerindian alleles and, by extension, a source of information on American prehistory. Methods In this study, we describe the genetic variation of 15 ancestry informative markers (AIMs) of autosomal origin in two quilombos, Brazilian populations mainly of African descent, Santo Antônio do Guaporé (SAG; N = 31), and Santiago do Iguape (STI; N = 37). We compared the AIMs from these populations to those of other African–Brazilian populations, and to the Distrito Federal ( N = 168), an urban population representative of Brazilian genetic diversity. Results By admixture analysis, we found that the SAG and STI communities have a much higher proportion (over 40%) of Amerindian contribution to their gene pools than other admixed Brazilian populations, in addition to marked African contributions. Conclusions These results identify two living African–Brazilian populations that carry unique and important genetic information regarding Amerindian history. These populations will be extremely valuable in future investigations into American pre‐history and Native American evolutionary dynamics. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 26:142–150, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.