New Delhi, Aug 13 (India Science Wire): The Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir
(J&K) and Ladakh in North India with its wide variety of landscape, is a congruence of
several languages and cultural practices. The region is believed to have served as a corridor
for ancient human migrations between the Indian subcontinent and North-East Asia, Eurasia
and Africa.
The populations in the region offer a unique opportunity to investigate the past
anthropological and demographic events which might have shaped the extant human
population diversity. In a new study, scientists at the Department of Biotechnology’s Centre
for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (DBT-CDFD) have sought to decipher the genetic
diversity encompassed by Gujjars from the Jammu region of J&K and the Ladakhi
populations.
(A representative picture of Kashmir)
A previous study had found that the two communities – Gujjars and Ladakhis exhibited lower
genetic affinity towards other populations in their geographical proximity. To better
understand the genetic diversity in these populations, a battery of DNA markers located on
autosomes, Y-chromosome and the mitochondrial genome were employed.
The principal coordinate and cluster analysis based on autosomal DNA markers indicated
Gujjars and Ladakhis were genetically distant to each other as well as to other reference
populations of India, which was in concordance with Y-chromosomal analysis.
The genetic affinity of Gujjars in Jammu region to Pashtuns in Baghlans and Kunduz
provinces of Afghanistan and Pashtuns and Sindhis in Pakistan indicated their past genetic
relatedness and a common ancestry. On the other hand, Ladakhis were found to be
genetically close to Chinese (Uighurs and Han) and Nepalese (Magar) populations, which
might be due to their close geographic proximity.
Y-haplogroup (which represent a group of individuals who have inherited a common set of
markers)-based studies suggested that the Gujjars are less diverse as compared to Ladakhis.
The presence of many rare haplogroups in Ladakhis portrays rich accumulation of male-
mediated contribution in the past.
The mitochondrial DNA analysis supported the findings that the Gujjars are less genetically
diverse as compared to Ladhakis, which perhaps may be due to the endogamous cultural
practices in this group (where they marry within a specific community or caste or group). The
Y-chromosomal and mitochondrial analysis showed higher genetic differentiation among
males than females indicating patrilocality among these populations.
The present study is the first comprehensive attempt to determine the genetic relatedness of
the Gujjars and Ladakhis to populations within India and elsewhere in the world and would
help in gaining deeper insights into genetic diversity and demographic settlement in this part
of the world.
The researchers, Mugdha Singh, Anujit Sarkar, Devinder Kumar and Madhusudan R.
Nandineni, have published a paper in Scientific Reports titled `The genetic affinities of Gujjar
and Ladakhi populations of India’. (India Science Wire)