Origins, Admixture Dynamics, and Homogenization of the African Gene Pool in the Americas

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2020

Authors

Gouveia, MH (Author) Other; Borda, V (Author) Other; Leal, TP (Author) Other; Moreira, RG (Author) Other; Bergen, AW (Author) Other; Kehdy, FSG (Author) Other; Alvim, I (Author) Other; Aquino, MM (Author) Other; Araujo, GS (Author) Other; Araujo, NM (Author) Other; Furlan, V (Author) Other; Liboredo, R (Author) Other; Machado, M (Author) Other; Magalhaes, WCS (Author) Other; Michelin, LA (Author) Other; Rodrigues, MR (Author) Other; Rodrigues Soares, F (Author) Other; Anna, HPS (Author) Other; Santolalla, ML (Author) Other; Scliar, MO (Author) Other; Soares Souza, G (Author) Other; Zamudio, R (Author) Other; Zolini, C (Author) Other; Bortolini, MC (Author) Other; Dean, M (Author) Other; Gilman, RH (Author) Other; Guio, H (Author) Other; Rocha, J (Author) FCUP; Pereira, AC (Author) Other; Barreto, ML (Author) Other; Horta, BL (Author) Other; Lima Costa, MF (Author) Other; Mbulaiteye, SM (Author) Other; Chanock, SJ (Author) Other; Tishkoff, SA (Author) Other; Yeager, M (Author) Other; Tarazona Santos, E (Author) Other

Journal

Title: Molecular Biology and Evolution

Vol. 37

Pages: 1647-1656

ISSN: 0737-4038

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 31 Citations

Scopus - 30 Citations

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00S-8FG

DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msaa033

Abstract (EN): The Transatlantic Slave Trade transported more than 9 million Africans to the Americas between the early 16th and the mid-19th centuries. We performed a genome-wide analysis using 6,267 individuals from 25 populations to infer how different African groups contributed to North-, South-American, and Caribbean populations, in the context of geographic and geopolitical factors, and compared genetic data with demographic history records of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. We observed that West-Central Africa and Western Africa-associated ancestry clusters are more prevalent in northern latitudes of the Americas, whereas the South/East Africa-associated ancestry cluster is more prevalent in southern latitudes of the Americas. This pattern results from geographic and geopolitical factors leading to population differentiation. However, there is a substantial decrease in the between-population differentiation of the African gene pool within the Americas, when compared with the regions of origin from Africa, underscoring the importance of historical factors favoring admixture between individuals with different African origins in the New World. This between-population homogenization in the Americas is consistent with the excess of West-Central Africa ancestry (the most prevalent in the Americas) in the United States and Southeast-Brazil, with respect to historical-demography expectations. We also inferred that in most of the Americas, intercontinental admixture intensification occurred between 1750 and 1850, which correlates strongly with the peak of arrivals from Africa. This study contributes with a population genetics perspective to the ongoing social, cultural, and political debate regarding ancestry, admixture, and the mestizaje process in the Americas.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 10