Genetic evidence for an East Asian origin of Chinese Muslim populations Dongxiang and Hui, R1a-M17
Genetic evidence for an East Asian origin of Chinese Muslim populations Dongxiang and Hui
Hong-Bing Yao, Chuan-Chao Wang, Xiaolan Tao, Lei Shang, Shao-Qing Wen, Bofeng Zhu, Longli Kang, Li Jin & Hui Li
Scientific Reports 6, Article number: 38656 (2016)
doi:10.1038/srep38656
Abstract
There is a long-going debate on the genetic origin of Chinese Muslim populations, such as Uygur, Dongxiang, and Hui. However, genetic information for those Muslim populations except Uygur is extremely limited. In this study, we investigated the genetic structure and ancestry of Chinese Muslims by analyzing 15 autosomal short tandem repeats in 652 individuals from Dongxiang, Hui, and Han Chinese populations in Gansu province. Both genetic distance and Bayesian-clustering methods showed significant genetic homogeneity between the two Muslim populations and East Asian populations, suggesting a common genetic ancestry. Our analysis found no evidence of substantial gene flow from Middle East or Europe into Dongxiang and Hui people during their Islamization. The dataset generated in present study are also valuable for forensic identification and paternity tests in China.
Open
http://www.nature.com/articles/srep38656
but, in the paper
Quote:
About 24–30% Y chromosomes of Salar, Bo’an, and Dongxiang belong to East Asian specific haplogroup O3-M122. The Central Asian, South Asian, and European prevalent Y chromosomal lineage R-M17 also comprises 17%, 26%, and 28% of Salar, Bo’an, and Dongxiang, respectively8.
So Does it mean that Dongxiang R1a-M17 originated in China?
And,
Quote:
conclusion:
The two Chinese Muslim populations Dongxiang and Hui showed significant genetic homogeneity with co-resident Han Chinese in Linxia and other East Asian populations rather than with European or Middle Eastern populations, which support a simple cultural diffusion for the origin of Dongxiang and Hui in China. This cultural transformation phenomenon has also been observed in other Muslim populations. Although the Utsat people in Hainan Island are thought to be descendants of the Champa Kingdom and have been officially recognized as Hui nationality, they are genetically much closer to the Hainan indigenous ethnic groups than to the Cham and other mainland Southeast Asian populations9.
The spread of Islam in the Indian subcontinent was also proven to be predominantly cultural diffusion associated with minor gene flow from West Asia and Arabia by analyzing autosomal STRs44,45, mitochondrial DNA46,47, and Y chromosome47.
Is that true?
