Genetic affinities between the Yami tribe people of Orchid Island and the Philippine Islanders of the Batanes archipelago

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Yami and Ivatan islanders are Austronesian speakers from Orchid Island and the Batanes archipelago that are located between Taiwan and the Philippines. The paternal genealogies of the Yami tribe from 1962 monograph of Wei and Liu wer...

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Main Authors: Lee Chien-Liang, Chen Zong-Sian, Yen Ju-Chen, Trejaut Jean A, Loo Jun-Hun, Lin Marie
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2011-01-01
Series:BMC Genetics
Online Access:http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2156/12/21
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author Lee Chien-Liang
Chen Zong-Sian
Yen Ju-Chen
Trejaut Jean A
Loo Jun-Hun
Lin Marie
author_facet Lee Chien-Liang
Chen Zong-Sian
Yen Ju-Chen
Trejaut Jean A
Loo Jun-Hun
Lin Marie
author_sort Lee Chien-Liang
collection DOAJ
description <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Yami and Ivatan islanders are Austronesian speakers from Orchid Island and the Batanes archipelago that are located between Taiwan and the Philippines. The paternal genealogies of the Yami tribe from 1962 monograph of Wei and Liu were compared with our dataset of non-recombining Y (NRY) chromosomes from the corresponding families. Then mitochondrial DNA polymorphism was also analyzed to determine the matrilineal relationships between Yami, Ivatan, and other East Asian populations.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The family relationships inferred from the NRY Phylogeny suggested a low number of paternal founders and agreed with the genealogy of Wei and Liu (P < 0.01). Except for one Y short tandem repeat lineage (Y-STR), seen in two unrelated Yami families, no other Y-STR lineages were shared between villages, whereas mtDNA haplotypes were indiscriminately distributed throughout Orchid Island.</p> <p>The genetic affinity seen between Yami and Taiwanese aborigines or between Ivatan and the Philippine people was closer than that between Yami and Ivatan, suggesting that the Orchid islanders were colonized separately by their nearest neighbors and bred in isolation. However a northward gene flow to Orchid Island from the Philippines was suspected as Yami and Ivatan peoples both speak Western Malayo-Polynesian languages which are not spoken in Taiwan. Actually, only very little gene flow was observed between Yami and Ivatan or between Yami and the Philippines as indicated by the sharing of mtDNA haplogroup B4a1a4 and one O1a1* Y-STR lineage.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The NRY and mtDNA genetic information among Yami tribe peoples fitted well the patrilocal society model proposed by Wei and Liu. In this proposal, there were likely few genetic exchanges among Yami and the Philippine people. Trading activities may have contributed to the diffusion of Malayo-Polynesian languages among them.</p> <p>Finally, artifacts dating 4,000 YBP, found on Orchid Island and indicating association with the Out of Taiwan hypothesis might be related to a pioneering stage of settlement, as most dating estimates inferred from DNA variation in our data set ranged between 100-3,000 YBP.</p>
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spelling doaj.art-c3c1dd3b1c064b07a0169e90648798102022-12-22T00:20:46ZengBMCBMC Genetics1471-21562011-01-011212110.1186/1471-2156-12-21Genetic affinities between the Yami tribe people of Orchid Island and the Philippine Islanders of the Batanes archipelagoLee Chien-LiangChen Zong-SianYen Ju-ChenTrejaut Jean ALoo Jun-HunLin Marie<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Yami and Ivatan islanders are Austronesian speakers from Orchid Island and the Batanes archipelago that are located between Taiwan and the Philippines. The paternal genealogies of the Yami tribe from 1962 monograph of Wei and Liu were compared with our dataset of non-recombining Y (NRY) chromosomes from the corresponding families. Then mitochondrial DNA polymorphism was also analyzed to determine the matrilineal relationships between Yami, Ivatan, and other East Asian populations.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The family relationships inferred from the NRY Phylogeny suggested a low number of paternal founders and agreed with the genealogy of Wei and Liu (P < 0.01). Except for one Y short tandem repeat lineage (Y-STR), seen in two unrelated Yami families, no other Y-STR lineages were shared between villages, whereas mtDNA haplotypes were indiscriminately distributed throughout Orchid Island.</p> <p>The genetic affinity seen between Yami and Taiwanese aborigines or between Ivatan and the Philippine people was closer than that between Yami and Ivatan, suggesting that the Orchid islanders were colonized separately by their nearest neighbors and bred in isolation. However a northward gene flow to Orchid Island from the Philippines was suspected as Yami and Ivatan peoples both speak Western Malayo-Polynesian languages which are not spoken in Taiwan. Actually, only very little gene flow was observed between Yami and Ivatan or between Yami and the Philippines as indicated by the sharing of mtDNA haplogroup B4a1a4 and one O1a1* Y-STR lineage.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The NRY and mtDNA genetic information among Yami tribe peoples fitted well the patrilocal society model proposed by Wei and Liu. In this proposal, there were likely few genetic exchanges among Yami and the Philippine people. Trading activities may have contributed to the diffusion of Malayo-Polynesian languages among them.</p> <p>Finally, artifacts dating 4,000 YBP, found on Orchid Island and indicating association with the Out of Taiwan hypothesis might be related to a pioneering stage of settlement, as most dating estimates inferred from DNA variation in our data set ranged between 100-3,000 YBP.</p>http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2156/12/21
spellingShingle Lee Chien-Liang
Chen Zong-Sian
Yen Ju-Chen
Trejaut Jean A
Loo Jun-Hun
Lin Marie
Genetic affinities between the Yami tribe people of Orchid Island and the Philippine Islanders of the Batanes archipelago
BMC Genetics
title Genetic affinities between the Yami tribe people of Orchid Island and the Philippine Islanders of the Batanes archipelago
title_full Genetic affinities between the Yami tribe people of Orchid Island and the Philippine Islanders of the Batanes archipelago
title_fullStr Genetic affinities between the Yami tribe people of Orchid Island and the Philippine Islanders of the Batanes archipelago
title_full_unstemmed Genetic affinities between the Yami tribe people of Orchid Island and the Philippine Islanders of the Batanes archipelago
title_short Genetic affinities between the Yami tribe people of Orchid Island and the Philippine Islanders of the Batanes archipelago
title_sort genetic affinities between the yami tribe people of orchid island and the philippine islanders of the batanes archipelago
url http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2156/12/21
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