Ancient DNA research reveals the complex interaction history between ancient populations in the western plateau and those inside and outside the plateau_Zhongke Frontier (Xiamen) Science and Technology Research Institute

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Ancient DNA research reveals the complex interaction history between ancient populations in the western plateau and those inside and outside the plateau

Time：2024-05-28 07:05:05

On May 22, the team of Fu Qiaomei, a researcher of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, cooperated with the Institute of Cultural Relics Protection of the Xizang Autonomous Region and other institutions to carry out paleogenomic research on ancient populations in the Ali region of the western Tibetan Plateau. The related research results are titled "Ancient genes received the complex human interactions of the ancient Western Tibetans" and are published online in Current Biology.

The Ali region in the western part of the Qinghai Tibet Plateau is a border area connecting the Qinghai Tibet Plateau, South Asia, and Central Asia, and is a potential early population exchange channel. Previous studies have confirmed that the genetic components related to the Central Asian population have influenced this region as late as 2300 years ago, but the genetic history of the population in this region was not clear earlier.

This study sequenced the ancient genomes of 65 individuals from 6 sites in the Ali region of the western Qinghai Tibet Plateau dating back 3500 to 300 years. The newly sequenced data covers samples from the oldest early tombs of Gebuseru dating back 3500 years in the western plateau, as well as late Gebuseru, Laga, Sandalongo, Prandova, Qulongsaza, and Guge Kingdom sites. This study, combined with published data from the Ali region, systematically reconstructed the genetic evolution history of the population in the western region of the Qinghai Tibet Plateau since 3500 years ago.

Research shows that the genetic composition of the ancient population in the western plateau is closest to that in the southern plateau, and the main genetic composition has remained stable since 3500 years ago, with complex and frequent interactions between the ancient population inside and outside the plateau.

The above achievements are a systematic and long-term paleogenetic study of ancient populations in the western plateau, which has positive significance for exploring the interaction history between ancient populations within the plateau and with neighboring ancient populations in South and Central Asia.

The research work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

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