BACKGROUND: Due to its geographic location, Gujarat has played a major role in assimilation of different cultures with those of the subcontinent of India and is home to a number of Indo-European speaking tribes. AIM: This study examined the genetic structure and extent of gene differentiation in eight Indo-European speaking tribal populations of southern Gujarat in western India. It also determined if there was any residual effect of linguistic and cultural assimilation of Indo-European speaking groups on the genomic profile of the tribes under study. METHODS: Twenty autosomal DNA markers (Alu InDels and Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphisms) were analysed. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Average heterozygosity levels were high and degree of gene differentiation (G(ST) = 2%) was small, indicating that genetic drift may not have played a major role in bringing out a characteristic genetic differentiation in these groups. The genetic structure of the populations revealed that neither of these groups was overtly admixed nor completely isolated. Other analyses undertaken on the population affiliations revealed only a slight influence of Indo-European speaking populations on the tribal groups of Gujarat, but there was an overwhelming influence of Dravidian speaking groups of southern India, suggesting that genetic affinities may not necessarily be dependent on linguistic similarities.
BACKGROUND: Due to its geographic location, Gujarat has played a major role in assimilation of different cultures with those of the subcontinent of India and is home to a number of Indo-European speaking tribes. AIM: This study examined the genetic structure and extent of gene differentiation in eight Indo-European speaking tribal populations of southern Gujarat in western India. It also determined if there was any residual effect of linguistic and cultural assimilation of Indo-European speaking groups on the genomic profile of the tribes under study. METHODS: Twenty autosomal DNA markers (Alu InDels and Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphisms) were analysed. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Average heterozygosity levels were high and degree of gene differentiation (G(ST) = 2%) was small, indicating that genetic drift may not have played a major role in bringing out a characteristic genetic differentiation in these groups. The genetic structure of the populations revealed that neither of these groups was overtly admixed nor completely isolated. Other analyses undertaken on the population affiliations revealed only a slight influence of Indo-European speaking populations on the tribal groups of Gujarat, but there was an overwhelming influence of Dravidian speaking groups of southern India, suggesting that genetic affinities may not necessarily be dependent on linguistic similarities.