Inferring the population structure and admixture history of three Hmong-Mien-speaking Miao tribes from southwest China based on genome-wide SNP genotyping
Ting Luo, Rui Wang, Chuan‐Chao Wang
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Hmong-Mien speaking Miao, also called Hmong, is the sixth largest ethnic group in mainland China. However, the fine-scale genetic profiles and population history of Miao populations in southwest China, especially in Guizhou province, remain uncharacterised due to a scarcity of samples of genome-wide data from different tribes. AIM: To further investigate the population substructure and admixture history of the Guizhou Miao minority. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: and RESULTS: -based two-way admixture model further revealed that the studied Guizhou Miao harboured 44%-55.4% indigenous Austronesian-speaking Atayal-related ancestry and 44.6%-56% Late Neolithic Yellow River farmer-related ancestry. CONCLUSIONS: The population structure within Hmong-Mien-related populations showed a geographic correlation. Hmong-Mien speaking Hunan Miao, Guizhou Miao, and Vietnam Hmong presented close genetic relationships although they dwelt in different regions, suggesting the preservation of the original Hmong-related genetic diversity. The results based on genome-wide SNPs data generally matched the migration history for the Miao population. Our study contributes to a better knowledge of Miao populations and the population structure in southwest China.