From North Asia to South America: Tracing the longest human migration through genomic sequencing
Elena S. Gusareva, Amit Gourav Ghosh, V. N. Kharkov, Seik‐Soon Khor, А. А. Зарубин, Nikita Moshkov, Namrata Kalsi, Aakrosh Ratan, Cassie E. Heinle, Niall P. Cooke, Cláudio M. Bravi, M. V. Smolnikova, Sergey Tereshchenko, Э. В. Каспаров, I. Yu. Khitrinskaya, Andrey Marusin, Magomed O. Razhabov, М. В. Голубенко, M. G. Swarovskaya, Н. А. Колесников, Ksenia V. Vagaitseva, Е. Р. Еремина, Aitalina Sukhomyasova, О. В. Штыгашева, Deepa Panicker, Poh Nee Ang, Choou Fook Lee, Yanqing Koh, See Ting Leong, Changsook Park, Sachin R. Lohar, Zhei Hwee Yap, Soo Guek Ng, Justine Dacanay, Daniela I. Drautz‐Moses, Nurul Adilah Binte Ramli, Katsushi Tokunaga, Ian McGonigle, Inaho Danjoh, Andrés Moreno‐Estrada, Atsushi Tajima, Hideyuki Tanabe, Yukio Nakamura, Shigeki Nakagome, Tatiana V. Tatarinova, Vadim Stepanov, Stephan C. Schuster, Hie Lim Kim
Abstract
Genome sequencing of 1537 individuals from 139 ethnic groups reveals the genetic characteristics of understudied populations in North Asia and South America. Our analysis demonstrates that West Siberian ancestry, represented by the Kets and Nenets, contributed to the genetic ancestry of most Siberian populations. West Beringians, including the Koryaks, Inuit, and Luoravetlans, exhibit genetic adaptation to Arctic climate, including medically relevant variants. In South America, early migrants split into four groups-Amazonians, Andeans, Chaco Amerindians, and Patagonians-~13,900 years ago. Their longest migration led to population decline, whereas settlement in South America's diverse environments caused instant spatial isolation, reducing genetic and immunogenic diversity. These findings highlight how population history and environmental pressures shaped the genetic architecture of human populations across North Asia and South America.