Genetic study From North Asia to South America: Tracing the longest human migration through genomic sequencing

Tautalus · May 15, 2025

Editor’s summary

From our origins in Africa, humans have migrated and settled across the world. Perhaps none of these migrations has been the subject of as much debate as the expansion into and throughout the Americas. Gusareva et al. used 1477 whole-genome sequenced samples from 139 populations in South America and Northeast Eurasia to shed light on the population history of Native Americans. Collected as a part of the GenomeAsia 100K consortium, analysis of these data showed that there are four main ancestral lineages that contributed to modern South Americans. These lineages diverged from each other between 10,000 and 14,000 years ago, and this analysis reveals more details of the population history dynamics in these groups.

Abstract

Genome sequencing of 1537 individuals from 139 ethnic groups reveals the genetic characteristics of understudied populations in North Asia and South America. Our analysis demonstrates that West Siberian ancestry, represented by the Kets and Nenets, contributed to the genetic ancestry of most Siberian populations. West Beringians, including the Koryaks, Inuit, and Luoravetlans, exhibit genetic adaptation to Arctic climate, including medically relevant variants. In South America, early migrants split into four groups—Amazonians, Andeans, Chaco Amerindians, and Patagonians—~13,900 years ago. Their longest migration led to population decline, whereas settlement in South America’s diverse environments caused instant spatial isolation, reducing genetic and immunogenic diversity. These findings highlight how population history and environmental pressures shaped the genetic architecture of human populations across North Asia and South America.

From North Asia to South America: Tracing the longest human migration through genomic sequencing

Population structure and admixture

Demographic history and population dynamics - (A to C - PCAs)

Duarte · May 16, 2025

A very interesting study, without a doubt. I really like studies that address the dispersion of indigenous peoples throughout the Americas because, although in terms of nuclear DNA I do not obtain even traces of Native American ancestry, in my mitochondrial DNA I belong to macro haplogroup B2, which is one of the primary maternal lineages of Native Americans, most likely arising among the founding peoples who lived in Beringia 20,000 years ago. The study addresses the dispersion throughout South America in four large groups, Amazon, Andes, Chaco and Patagonia, which must have occurred 13,000 years ago after crossing the Panama istmo. Checking my FTDNA Mt Full Sequence I was able to find notable Native Americans, both ancient and modern, who have a B2 ancestor who lived between 13,000 and 12,000 years before Christ.