Genomic diversity at thirteen short tandem repeat loci in a substructured caste population, Golla, of southern Andhra Pradesh, India.

Genomic diversity based on 13 short tandem repeat (STR) loci was studied in seven population groups of a substructured Golla caste from Chittoor district in southern Andhra Pradesh, India. These groups are traditionally pastoral, culturally homogeneous, and strictly endogamous. Blood samples were drawn from 317 individuals from 30 Golla villages. The 13 STR loci analyzed in five standard multiplex polymerase chain reactions were: (1) CSF1R, TH01, and PLA2A; (2) F13A1, CYP19, and LPL; (3) D21S1446 and D21S1435; (4) D20S481, D20S473, and D20S604; and (5) D5S1453 and D6S1006. The average heterozygosity was found to be low among the Golla subgroups (0.64-0.70) in comparison to that of groups at the upper levels of the hierarchy. The coefficient of gene differentiation was found to be moderate (average GST = 0.031; range between 0.018 and 0.049 among the loci) when compared to that observed for a similar class of markers among populations with relatively higher levels of hierarchy, for example, among castes. It is, however, much higher when compared to the average observed for Indian caste and tribal populations, based on classical markers. Genetic distance measures revealed clusters of populations that are consistent with the known ethnohistorical and geographical backgrounds of the groups. We claim that these hypervariable markers are quite useful in understanding the process of substructuring within the Indian castes, leading to the formation of smaller breeding isolates, the basic Mendelian units within which microevolutionary forces operate.