MBE Advance Access originally published online on August 21, 2006
Molecular Biology and Evolution 2006 23(11):2234-2244; doi:10.1093/molbev/msl093
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
© 2006 The Authors
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/uk/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Research Articles |
Melanesian and Asian Origins of Polynesians: mtDNA and Y Chromosome Gradients Across the Pacific

,

,








* Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
Department of Forensic Molecular Biology, Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Department of Biology, The Netherlands Forensic Institute, The Hague, Netherlands
Department of Biological Sciences, Biological Computation and Visualization Center, Louisiana State University
|| N.I. Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
¶ Laboratoire des langues et civilisations à tradition orale, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Villejuif, France
# Center for Neural Science, New York University
** Max Planck Institute for Behavioral Physiology, Andechs, Germany

Department of Linguistics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany

Department of Genetics, Stanford University

Institute of Functional Genomics, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
|||| Department of Molecular and Clinical Genetics, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and Central Clinical School, The University of Sydney, Australia
E-mail: m.kayser{at}erasmusmc.nl.
| Abstract |
|---|
|
|
|---|
The human settlement of the Pacific Islands represents one of the most recent major migration events of mankind. Polynesians originated in Asia according to linguistic evidence or in Melanesia according to archaeological evidence. To shed light on the genetic origins of Polynesians, we investigated over 400 Polynesians from 8 island groups, in comparison with over 900 individuals from potential parental populations of Melanesia, Southeast and East Asia, and Australia, by means of Y chromosome (NRY) and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) markers. Overall, we classified 94.1% of Polynesian Y chromosomes and 99.8% of Polynesian mtDNAs as of either Melanesian (NRY-DNA: 65.8%, mtDNA: 6%) or Asian (NRY-DNA: 28.3%, mtDNA: 93.8%) origin, suggesting a dual genetic origin of Polynesians in agreement with the "Slow Boat" hypothesis. Our data suggest a pronounced admixture bias in Polynesians toward more Melanesian men than women, perhaps as a result of matrilocal residence in the ancestral Polynesian society. Although dating methods are consistent with somewhat similar entries of NRY/mtDNA haplogroups into Polynesia, haplotype sharing suggests an earlier appearance of Melanesian haplogroups than those from Asia. Surprisingly, we identified gradients in the frequency distribution of some NRY/mtDNA haplogroups across Polynesia and a gradual west-to-east decrease of overall NRY/mtDNA diversity, not only providing evidence for a west-to-east direction of Polynesian settlements but also suggesting that Pacific voyaging was regular rather than haphazard. We also demonstrate that Fiji played a pivotal role in the history of Polynesia: humans probably first migrated to Fiji, and subsequent settlement of Polynesia probably came from Fiji.
Key Words: polynesia Y chromosome mtDNA genetic origins human population history
| Introduction |
|---|
|
|
|---|
The colonization of Polynesia which ranges from Hawaii in the north to Easter Islands in the east, Fiji in the west, and New Zealand in the south, is still a matter of debate. According to linguistic evidence, Polynesian languages are closely related to each other and belong to the Austronesian language family that can be traced back to East Asia, in particular to the present-day languages of Taiwanese Aborigines (Blust 1999
Archaeological evidence suggests that western Polynesian islands (Fiji, Futuna, Samoa, Tonga) were settled 2,1003,200 years ago by people belonging to the so-called Lapita cultural complex that originated 3,0003,500 years ago in Island Melanesia, in particular the Bismarck Archipelago (Kirch 2000
). However, some archaeologists argue that the Lapita cultural complex originated about 6,000 years ago in China and thus associate the spread of Austronesian languages with the Neolithic spread of material culture, including agriculture and Lapita, from East Asia into the Pacific under the Express-train scenario (Bellwood 1978
; Diamond and Bellwood 2003)
, whereas others suggest a strict Melanesian origin of the Lapita cultural complex (White et al. 1988
; Terrell 1989
; Terrell et al. 2001
). Besides the 2 "extreme" models, the "Express train" assuming an Asian origin of Polynesians with no or little admixture of ingenious Melanesians and the "Entangled bank" assuming a long and complex history of human interactions starting from the first occupation of Melanesia in the Pleistocene (Terrell 1988
), there are additional "intermediate" models such as the "Triple I" (Green 1991
). The Triple I model assumes that components of the Lapita cultural complex are results of Intrusions of nonindigenous Asian components together with the Integration of indigenous Melanesian elements and new Innovations (Green 1991
).
In contrast to the clear evidence for an Asian origin of Polynesian languages and a probable Melanesian origin of the Lapita material culture found in Polynesia, the genetic origin of Polynesians is still contentious. Studies of maternally inherited mtDNA markers have favored an Asian origin of Polynesian maternal lineages (Melton et al. 1995
; Redd et al. 1995
; Sykes et al. 1995
; Trejaut et al. 2005
) in support of the Express-train hypothesis. In contrast, studies of paternally inherited DNA markers from the nonrecombining portion of the Y chromosome (NRY) have revealed a mostly Melanesian origin of Polynesian paternal lineages (Kayser, Brauer et al. 2000
; Capelli et al. 2001
; Underhill, Passarino, Lin, Marzuki et al. 2001
; Hurles et al. 2002
) supporting the "Slow Boat" hypothesis (Kayser, Brauer et al. 2000
). The Slow Boat model assumes that Polynesian ancestors originated in Eastern Asia but mixed extensively with indigenous Melanesians before colonizing the Pacific (Kayser, Brauer et al. 2000
). Unfortunately, a similar term "Slow boat to Melanesia" was subsequently used to suggest a Southeast Asian genetic origin of Polynesians in the Pleistocene based on mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) evidence (Diamond 2001
; Oppenheimer and Richards 2001
). Studies of autosomal DNA markers suggest different scenarios depending on the markers used, for example, a Melanesian origin of Polynesian hemoglobin genes (Hill et al. 1985
, 1987
) versus an Asian origin of Polynesian human leucocyte antigen (HLA) genes (Mack et al. 2000
; Mack and Erlich 2005
).
In this study, we have used NRY and mtDNA markers to investigate the paternal and maternal genetic origin of over 400 individuals from 8 different Polynesian island groups by comparing them with over 900 individuals from Melanesia, Southeast and East Asia, and Australia. This significant increase over previous studies, both in populations and markers analyzed, provides new insights into the history of the human colonization of the Pacific.
| Material and Methods |
|---|
|
|
|---|
Samples
Samples used were described previously (Kayser, Brauer et al. 2000
Genotyping and Sequencing
In total, we analyzed 35 NRY binary markers including 26 as described previously (Kayser, Brauer et al. 2000
; Kayser et al. 2001
, 2003
), with the alteration of M9 and RPS4Y typed here in a multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-restriction fragment length polymorphism with 56 °C annealing temperature during PCR and 45 °C incubation temperature during restriction enzyme digest. In addition, 9 markers were typed: M226, M254, M296 (identified by P.J.O. at the Stanford Genome Technology Center and first described here); M353, M387 (identified by P.A.U. and A.A.L. and first described here); P34 (Karafet et al. 2005
); M177 (Underhill et al. 2000
); M214 (Underhill, Passarino, Lin, Shen et al. 2001
); and M134 (Cordaux et al. 2004
). Typing details for these additional markers are provided in Table S1, Supplementary Material online (except for M134, which was typed as described by Cordaux et al. [2004]
). In all, 7 NRY microsatellites (y-chromosomal short tandem repeat polymorphims, Y-STRs) were typed as described previously (Kayser, Brauer et al. 2000
), whereas the duplicate DYS385 Y-STR loci were typed separately as described by Kittler et al. (2003)
. The hypervariable region 1 (HVR1) of mtDNA was amplified using primers L16001 and H16410
[GenBank]
(Handt et al. 1996
; Cordaux et al. 2003
), sequenced using Big Dye chemistry as recommended by the manufacturer (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, CA), and products were separated on an ABI 377 or ABI 3700 DNA Sequencer (Applied Biosystems). Both DNA strands were sequenced separately, and in case of the "C-stretch" in the region 1618416193, both strands were sequenced twice. Sequences were analyzed using the SeqManII software from the Lasergene software package (DNASTAR Inc., Madison, WI). The mtDNA 9-bp deletion was analyzed as described elsewhere (Redd et al. 1995
). The phylogenetic relationships of the NRY and mtDNA markers used here are shown in Figure S1 (Supplementary Material online).
Statistical Analyses
Median-joining networks were constructed as described previously (Kayser, Brauer et al. 2000
) using the software Network (http://www.fluxus-engineering.com/sharenet.htm), also used for age estimation. The software package ARLEQUIN (http://lgb.unige.ch/arlequin/), (Schneider et al. 2000
) was applied for various diversity estimations as well as FST/RST calculation. The commercially available software packages SPSS and STATISTICA were used for correlation analyses,
2 exact test, and multidimensional scaling (MDS) analysis. Bayesian-based coalescence analyses of Y-STR haplotypes were performed using the software BATWING (Wilson et al. 2003
) with the following parameter: a gamma distribution was used as a prior distribution for the mutation rate of each STR. The 2 parameters
and ß of the gamma distribution were assigned based on locus-specific mutation rates estimated from family studies (Kayser, Roewer et al. 2000
; Dupuy et al. 2004
): DYS19 (
5, ß 2763), DYS390 (
12, ß 2233), DYS391 (
10, ß 2182), DYS392 (
1, ß 2182), DYS392 and DYS393 (
1, ß 2182), DYS389I (
5, ß 2192), and 389II (
6, ß 2192). The 2 parameters describing the population growth (
and ß in the model) have been set as
prior gamma (2,400) and ß uniform (0.1, 0.2).
| Results and Discussion |
|---|
|
|
|---|
Polynesian Paternal Ancestry
The 35 NRY binary markers analyzed here define 24 NRY haplogroups, of which 18 are found in Polynesia, 13 in Melanesia, 17 in Asia, and 6 in Australia (fig. 1; Table S2, Supplementary Material online). Of the NRY haplogroups observed in Polynesia, we had identified previously a Melanesian origin for C-M38, C-M208, and M-M4 (Kayser et al. 2001
|
|
We and others (Su et al. 1999
Of the remaining NRY haplogroups found in Polynesia, 2 (R-M173 and F-M89) most likely represent European admixture because comparison of their Y-STR haplotypes to the Y-STR Haplotype Reference Database (http://yhrd.org/index.html) revealed that 83100% of the matches involved exclusively European haplotypes (data not shown). Haplogroup K-M353 is likely to be of Fijian origin and is described in more detail below. One additional individual from the Cook Islands had the SRY10831a mutation and was ancestral for M9, M89, and RPS4Y, but the y-chromosome alu repeat polymorphism locus could not be amplified after several attempts and for unknown reasons. Unfortunately, the lack of DNA for this sample omitted us from additional genotyping to resolve the Y chromosome lineage of this single individual in more detail.
Polynesian-Specific NRY Haplogroups
Two NRY markers were restricted to Polynesia. One, M353, was found in 4 Fijians and 1 Futunan and most likely arose in Fiji as the associated Y-STR haplotypes are all different among the 4 Fijians, whereas the single Futunan Y-STR haplotype is identical to a Fijian haplotype. The other marker consists of a triplication event involving the DYS385 microsatellite (which usually exists as duplicated copies) on an O-M122 Y chromosome background. This DYS385 triplication occurred in all 8 Polynesian populations analyzed but not anywhere outside Polynesia (table 1). Separation analysis of the different DYS385 copies according to the procedure of Kittler et al. (2003)
revealed that the shortest allele (always 12 repeats in lengths) belongs to the DYS385a copy, whereas the other 2 alleles (mostly 13 and 16 repeats) belong to the DYS385b and the new DYS385c copy (which therefore most likely originated from the DYS385b copy). This consistent pattern, together with the O-M122 association, suggests a single origin of this DYS385 triplication in Polynesia. The Y-STR haplotype diversity associated with DYS385tri/O-M122 was highest in Tuvalu, suggesting that Tuvalu is the likely place of origin (table 1). In addition, a median-joining network of the 10 Y-STR haplotypes observed in the 56 individuals carrying this marker provides evidence for a recent expansion with a widespread most frequent haplotype (occurring in 7 of 8 Polynesian populations with an overall frequency of 50%) and a star-like structure (Figure S2, Supplementary Material online). This Y-STR haplotype (including the 3 DYS385 alleles) was also frequent (20%) in an independent sample of Pacific Islanders, although Y-SNP data were not reported (Shepherd et al. 2004
). The age of this lineage is estimated to be 3,700 years (95% credible interval 2,1006,500 years based on the BATWING analysis; dates based on other methods are given in Table S3, Supplementary Material online). Thus, the DYS385 triplication associated with haplogroup O-M122 provides clear evidence not only for a Polynesian founder effect but also for a recent west-to-east expansion within Polynesia.
|
Polynesian Maternal Ancestry
The mtDNA sequence data together with data from the 9-bp deletion allowed us to infer 31 mtDNA haplogroups, of which 10 are found in Polynesia, 12 in Melanesia, and 26 in Asia (Table S4, Supplementary Material online; fig. 1). Five Polynesian mtDNA haplogroups have an Asian origin: B4, B4a, B4b1, Polynesian motif (PM), and M7c1c (Kivisild et al. 2002
Dual Genetic Origins of Polynesians
Based on the NRY and mtDNA data, we identified a dual genetic heritage of Polynesians, containing both Melanesian and Asian genetic components. However, these 2 components differed between the paternally inherited Y chromosome and the maternally inherited mtDNA (table 2). Overall in Polynesia, the proportion of Melanesian haplogroups was 11-fold higher for Y chromosomes (65.8%) than for mtDNAs (6%), and of Asian haplogroups was more than 3-fold higher for mtDNAs (93.8%) than for Y chromosomes (28.3%). The proportions of Asian NRY and mtDNA haplogroups in Polynesia were not correlated (Spearman R = 0.43, P = 0.34, excluding Tokelau due to small sample size), and the correlation for Melanesian haplogroups was somewhat higher but not statistically significant (R = 0.60, P = 0.21, excluding Niue and Tokelau for small sample size). In addition, no correlation between all NRY haplogroups and mtDNA sequence for Polynesian populations was observed (Mantel test based on FST: R = 0.243, P = 0.25, excluding Niue and Tokelau). The discrepancy between the amount of Asian versus Melanesian NRY and mtDNA haplogroups of Polynesians could reflect uxorilocal (matrilocal) residence in ancestral Polynesian society (Hage 1998
; Hage and Marck 2003
), as this would have resulted in more admixture of Asian migrants with Melanesian males than females before their colonization of the Pacific. This explanation finds some support in the proportions of Melanesian and Asian haplogroups in the coastal and island Melanesians included in this study (table 2); those Island Melanesians received a larger contribution of Asian mtDNAs (29.472.5%) than of Asian Y chromosomes (5.337.7%) from the ancestral Polynesians, as expected given that the respective societies (Tolai, Trobriand Islanders, Bereina-Mekeo) are of virilocal (patrilocal) residence.
|
Moreover, inferred European genetic components were 15-fold higher for the Y chromosome (4.5%) than for mtDNA (0.3%), in keeping with the expectation that European men would have contributed more genes to Polynesians than European women. The fact that we find lower levels of inferred European ancestry in Polynesia than reported in other studies (Hurles et al. 1998
Genetic Heterogeneity among Polynesian Populations
We analyzed the frequency distributions of the Asian and Melanesian mtDNA and NRY haplogroups in Polynesia (table 2), to ascertain if there is significant genetic heterogeneity among Polynesian groups. With respect to mtDNA, haplogroups PM and B4a vary significantly in frequency (
2 exact test: P = 0.0017 and P = 0.03, respectively, based on 100,000 Monte Carlo simulations). Sample sizes for the remaining mtDNA haplogroups are too small to test for significant differences in frequency (Table S4, Supplementary Material online), although the frequency of Melanesian mtDNA haplogroups is higher in Fiji (20.5%) than elsewhere in Polynesia (07.7%) (table 2 and fig. 1). With respect to NRY haplogroups, O-M122, K-M9, M-M104, and C-M208 showed highly significant frequency differences among Polynesian groups (P < 0.0001, M-M104: P = 0.00019); the other haplogroups either occurred sporadically or only in single populations. Thus, all haplogroups for which sample sizes are sufficient exhibit significant frequency differences among Polynesian groups. This most likely reflects founder events during the colonization of the various islands and/or subsequent genetic drift due to small population sizes. However, many of these haplogroups also show gradients in frequency across the Pacific (fig. 4), with the frequency of one haplogroup (C-M208) significantly and positively correlated with longitude (Spearman's R = 1, P < 0.01), and the correlations for 2 other haplogroups (K-M9 and PM) approaching statistical significance (R = 0.77, P = 0.07 and R = 0.68, P = 0.09, respectively). Such frequency gradients are not expected if founder events occurred at random across the Pacific but instead suggest that there was an increasing tendency for founder events as the more eastern islands were colonized. This interpretation receives further support from the previous observation of an inverse correlation between mtDNA and Y-DNA diversity and the time of colonization of Pacific islands (Hurles et al. 2003
). It is also consistent with a study that found a significant association between migration distance from Southeast Asia and loss of heterozygosity for autosomal microsatellite loci, which included a small number of Polynesian groups (Lum et al. 2002
). Thus, Pacific voyaging was regular rather than haphazard.
|
We also noticed striking differences in genetic diversity between groups from different Polynesian islands and for different measures of diversity (Table S5, Supplementary Material online). Diversity of NRY haplogroups and mtDNA HV1 sequences declines from west-to-east (fig. 4), with negative correlations that are approaching statistical significance (Spearman, NRY: R = 0.77, P = 0.07; mtDNA: R = 0.71, P = 0.07). Thus, our data provide evidence for a west-to-east settlement of Polynesia with additional evidence from the frequency and diversity distribution of the Polynesian DYS385 triplication and the Polynesian haplogroup K-M353 (see above).
Time of Migration
Are the different Melanesian and Asian NRY and mtDNA haplogroups in Polynesia today the result of a single wave of migration or multiple migrations? To address this question, we performed network analyses as described previously (Kayser, Brauer et al. 2000
), and demographic analyses, for the most frequent Polynesian NRY (C-M208, K-M9, M-M4, O-M122) and mtDNA (PM and B4a) haplogroups using associated Y-STR and mtDNA sequence haplotypes, respectively (figs. 2 and 3). All networks exhibit a consistent pattern with one Polynesian haplotype at high frequency that is shared between all (or almost all) Polynesian groups, and most other Polynesian haplotypes connected via 1 or 2 mutational steps only (figs. 2 and 3; Table S3, Supplementary Material online). This star-like pattern, identified in 4 independent NRY and 2 independent mtDNA haplogroups, indicates a strong founder effect with subsequent population expansion in Polynesia and implies that the number of founding Y-STR and mtDNA haplotypes per haplogroup was low in Polynesia. Evidence for the Polynesian founder effect was also reported previously based on other genetic marker systems (Trent, Mickleson et al. 1988
; Flint et al. 1989
).
|
Various methods were used to date the entry of the NRY and mtDNA haplogroups into Polynesia (Table S3, Supplementary Material online). Assuming a generation time of 30 years (males/NRY) or 25 years (females/mtDNA) (Fenner 2005
Patterns of haplotype sharing do indicate some differences between haplogroups of Asian and Melanesian origin. A number of Y-STR haplotypes on the background of O-M122 (of Asian origin) are shared between Polynesia and Asia (8.0%), Polynesia and Melanesia (16%), as well as Melanesia and Asia (4.1%), including 2 haplotypes (2.4%) shared between all 3 geographic regions (Table S3, Supplementary Material online; fig. 2), reflecting the somewhat recent spread of O-M122 Y chromosomes from Asia to Melanesia and Polynesia. However, no haplotype sharing between geographic regions was observed for haplogroups C-M208 and M-M4, which are of Melanesian origin, and only one haplotype (2%) was shared between one Fijian and one Melanesian for K-M9, suggesting a more ancient spread of those NRY haplogroups from Melanesia to Polynesia. With respect to mtDNA haplogroups, there is again sharing of haplotypes between Polynesians and Melanesians for Asian haplogroups B4a and PM (Table S3, Supplementary Material online), whereas there is no sharing of haplotypes between Polynesians and Melanesians for the Melanesian haplogroup M28 (although the sample size for M28 is low, see Table S4, Supplementary Material online), suggesting a more recent spread of mtDNAs from Asia into Polynesia and a more ancient spread of mtDNAs from Melanesia into Polynesia.
If Polynesian ancestors did migrate to coastal/island Melanesia from Asia, mixed with coastal/island Melanesians (thereby obtaining Melanesian Y chromosomes and mtDNA types and leaving behind "Asian" Y chromosomes and mtDNA types), and then left Melanesia and colonized Polynesia, then the degree of haplotype sharing should be the same for haplogroups of Asian versus Melanesian origin because there was a single "separation" of an ancestral group of Polynesians from ancestral Melanesians. The fact that there is extensive sharing of Asian haplotypes, but not Melanesian haplotypes, between Polynesians and Melanesians today, therefore, could indicate that Melanesian haplotypes were present earlier in Polynesia (perhaps in Fiji), leading to greater divergence between Polynesians and Melanesians for haplogroups of Melanesian origin than for haplogroups of Asian origin. However, there are large gaps in the sampling of coastal/island Melanesians, which would need to be filled in before one could be certain that there is truly a difference in patterns of haplotype sharing between Polynesians and Melanesians for haplogroups of Asian versus Melanesian origin.
Fijian Genetic History
Fiji represents the most western islands of Polynesia, and Fijians share some features of physical and cultural traits with Melanesians (for overview see Frost 1979
), whereas the Fijian dialects are closely related to Polynesian languages (Ross et al. 2003
). The NRY and mtDNA data also indicate a closer relationship between Fijians and Melanesians than between other Polynesians and Melanesians. This is evidenced by the following: 1) the highest overall frequency of mtDNA haplogroups of Melanesian origin in Polynesia (20.5%) is observed in Fijiit is also the only Polynesian group where all 4 Melanesian mtDNA haplogroups observed in Polynesia are found (table 2 and fig. 1); 2) Fiji displays the highest diversity of Melanesian NRY haplogroups in Polynesia and shows the second highest frequency of Melanesian haplogroups (78.5%) in Polynesia with all 5 major haplogroups being present (table 2 and fig. 1); 3) in the K-M9 network, most Fijian haplotypes are more closely associated with Melanesian than with Polynesian haplotypes (fig. 2C); 4) Fiji displays the highest frequency of M-M4 (24.3%), which elsewhere only exists in Melanesia (2%), where it most likely originated but today mostly occurs as subgroup M-P34 (2874%). Thus, M-M4 in Fiji represents an old Melanesian lineage that left Melanesia prior to the M-P34 mutation rising in appreciable frequency. On the other hand, there is also a strong Polynesian association of Fijians: 1) in the C-M208 network, all but one of the Fijian haplotypes are shared with Polynesians (fig. 2A); 2) in the O-M122 network, 2 Fijian haplotypes (5 of 7 men) are shared with other Polynesians (fig. 2B); 3) the DYS385 triplication, for which a Polynesian origin is assumed, was observed in Fiji but not in Melanesia (table 1); 4) some M9 haplotypes are shared with other Polynesians (fig. 2C); 5) the Polynesian haplogroup K-M353 was only observed in Fiji and Futuna (but not in Melanesia) and probably arose in Fiji. Moreover, Fijians appear between the Polynesian cluster and the Coastal/Island Melanesian cluster in the FST-based 2-dimensional MDS plots from mtDNA haplotypes as well as from NRY haplogroups (fig. 5), although the latter MDS plot should be interpreted more carefully as indicated by the relatively high stress value. In addition, Fiji shows the highest overall genetic diversity from all Polynesian groups for both Y chromosome and mtDNA markers.
|
These results indicate the central role of Fiji in further Polynesian migrations; the fact that Fiji has the highest genetic diversity, and that all Polynesian groups have a subset of the diversity in Fiji, indicates that humans probably first migrated to Fiji and that subsequent settlement of Polynesia probably came from Fiji. This is in agreement with archaeological evidence showing that the oldest findings of Lapita pottery in Polynesia are from Fiji (3,200 years ago). Having originated from the Bismark Archipelago in Island Melanesia, Lapita was first introduced to Polynesia in Fiji, and there was a rapid expansion of the Lapita cultural complex from Fiji eastward into other parts of Polynesia (Futuna, Tonga, Samoa) as suggested indirectly by finding younger Lapita dates elsewhere in Polynesia (2,9002,100 years ago), but also directly, for example, by the presence of Fijian potsherds in Tonga (Kirch 2000
An alternative explanation is that following initial colonization, Fiji continued to receive migrants and genes from Melanesia and that humans continued to disperse from Fiji to Polynesia. Although there is archaeological evidence to support this view (for summary see Kirch 2000
), the genetic results do not suggest substantial ongoing contact between Fiji and Melanesia, as separate expansions of Y haplogroups C-M208 and K-M9 (both of Melanesian origin) in Fiji/Polynesia versus Melanesia are evident in the networks (fig. 2A and B). Ongoing contact between Melanesia and Fiji should result in more sharing of haplotypes between Melanesia and Fiji, which is not observed. Moreover, Y haplogroup M-M4 (of Melanesian origin) has its highest frequency in Fiji and exists in Melanesia mostly as its derived subgroup M-P34; ongoing contact should have brought more M-P34 chromosomes to Fiji. However, the low frequency elsewhere in Polynesia of other Melanesian Y and mtDNA haplogroups existing in Fiji precludes definitive conclusions, and additional sampling between mainland New Guinea and Fiji (e.g., from the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia) is needed to further investigate the amount of ongoing genetic contact between Melanesia and Fiji.
| Conclusions |
|---|
|
|
|---|
Our study provides evidence for a dual genetic origin of Pacific Islanders in Asia and Melanesia. This is in agreement with the Slow Boat hypothesis of Polynesian origins (Kayser, Brauer et al. 2000
| Supplementary Material |
|---|
|
|
|---|
Supplementary Tables S1S5 and Figures S1 and S2 are available at Molecular Biology and Evolution online (http://www.mbe.oxfordjournals.org/).
| Acknowledgements |
|---|
|
|
|---|
We are deeply grateful to all volunteers for contributing cheek swab or blood samples and additionally to the following colleagues for providing DNA samples: N. Saha, A. G. Soemantri, A. S. M. Sofro, K. Bhatia, J. Kuhl, N. Kretchmer, D. Bugawan, E. Hagelberg, S. Ulijaszek, K. Katayama, J. Martinson, B. Budowle, and C. Tyler-Smith. We thank D. Mueller, A. Fiedler, and A. Gross for DNA extractions, as well as D. Kappei for technical assistance in DNA typing. C. Schwarz and B. Hoeffner are acknowledged for DNA sequence analysis. R.B.R. is grateful to the Thomas J. Watson Foundation for financial support. The Max Planck Society is acknowledged for financial support of this study.
Funding to pay the Open Access publication charges for this article was provided by the Max Planck Society.
| Footnotes |
|---|
Arndt von Haeseler, Associate Editor
| References |
|---|
|
|
|---|
Bellwood PS. (1978) Man's conquest of the Pacific: the prehistory of Southeast Asia and Oceania. (Oxford University Press, Oxford).
Blust R. (1999) Subgrouping, circularity and extinction: some issues in Austronesian comparative linguistics. Symp Ser Inst Linguist Acad Sin 1:3194.
Capelli C, Wilson JF, Richards M, Stumpf MP, Gratrix F, Oppenheimer S, Underhill P, Pascali VL, Ko TM, Goldstein DB. (2001) A predominantly indigenous paternal heritage for the Austronesian-speaking peoples of insular Southeast Asia and Oceania. Am J Hum Genet 68:43243.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]
Cordaux R, Saha N, Bentley GR, Aunger R, Sirajuddin SM, Stoneking M. (2003) Mitochondrial DNA analysis reveals diverse histories of tribal populations from India. Eur J Hum Genet 11:25364.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]
Cordaux R, Weiss G, Saha N, Stoneking M. (2004) The northeast Indian passageway: a barrier or corridor for human migrations? Mol Biol Evol 21:152533.
Diamond J. (2001) Reply to Oppenheimer and Richards. Nature 410167.
Diamond J and Bellwood P. (2003) Farmers and their languages: the first expansions. Science 300:597603.
Diamond JM. (2000) Taiwan's gift to the world. Nature 403:70910.[CrossRef][Medline]
Diamond JM. (1988) Express train to Polynesia. Nature 336:3078.[CrossRef]
Dupuy BM, Stenersen M, Egeland T, Olaisen B. (2004) Y-chromosomal microsatellite mutation rates: differences in mutation rate between and within loci. Hum Mutat 23:11724.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]
Fenner JN. (2005) Cross-cultural estimation of the human generation interval for use in genetics-based population divergence studies. Am J Phys Anthropol 128:41523.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]
Flint J, Boyce AJ, Martinson JJ, Clegg JB. (1989) Population bottlenecks in Polynesia revealed by minisatellites. Hum Genet 83:25763.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]
Friedlaender J, Schurr T, Gentz F, et al. (2005) Expanding Southwest Pacific mitochondrial haplogroups P and Q. Mol Biol Evol 22:150617 (13 co-authors).
Frost EL. (1979) Fiji. The prehistory of Polynesia. (Australian National University PressIn Jennings JD (Ed.). , Canberra, Australia)6181.
Gray RD and Jordan FM. (2000) Language trees support the express-train sequence of Austronesian expansion. Nature 405:10525.[CrossRef][Medline]
Green RC. (1991) The Lapita cultural complex: current evidence and proposed models. Indo-Pac Prehist Assoc Bull 11:295305.
Hage P. (1998) Was Proto-Oceanic society matrilineal? . J Polyn Soc 107:36579.
Hage P and Marck J. (2003) Matrilineality and the Melanesian origin of Polynesian Y chromosomes. Curr Anthropol 44:1217.[CrossRef]
Handt O, Krings M, Ward RH, Paabo S. (1996) The retrieval of ancient human DNA sequences. Am J Hum Genet 59:36876.[Web of Science][Medline]
Heyerdahl T. (1950) Kontiki: across the Pacific by Raft(Rand McNally, Chicago, IL).
Hill AV, Bowden DK, Trent RJ, Higgs DR, Oppenheimer SJ, Thein SL, Mickleson KN, Weatherall DJ, Clegg JB. (1985) Melanesians and Polynesians share a unique alpha-thalassemia mutation. Am J Hum Genet 37:57180.[Web of Science][Medline]
Hill AV, Gentile B, Bonnardot JM, Roux J, Weatherall DJ, Clegg JB. (1987) Polynesian origins and affinities: globin gene variants in eastern Polynesia. Am J Hum Genet 40:45363.[Web of Science][Medline]
Hurles ME, Irven C, Nicholson J, Taylor PG, Santos FR, Loughlin J, Jobling MA, Sykes BC. (1998) European Y-chromosomal lineages in Polynesians: a contrast to the population structure revealed by mtDNA. Am J Hum Genet 63:1793806.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]
Hurles ME, Maund E, Nicholson J, Bosch E, Renfrew C, Sykes BC, Jobling MA. (2003) Native American Y chromosomes in Polynesia: the genetic impact of the Polynesian slave trade. Am J Hum Genet 72:12827.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]
Hurles ME, Nicholson J, Bosch E, Renfrew C, Sykes BC, Jobling MA. (2002) Y chromosomal evidence for the origins of oceanic-speaking peoples. Genetics 160:289303.
Karafet TM, Lansing JS, Redd AJ, et al. (2005) Balinese Y-chromosome perspective on the peopling of Indonesia: genetic contributions from pre-neolithic hunter-gatherers, Austronesian farmers, and Indian traders. Hum Biol 77:93114 (11 co-authors).[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]
Karafet TM, Osipova LP, Gubina MA, Posukh OL, Zegura SL, Hammer MF. (2002) High levels of Y-chromosome differentiation among native Siberian populations and the genetic signature of a boreal hunter-gatherer way of life. Hum Biol 74:76189.[Web of Science][Medline]
Kayser M, Brauer S, Weiss G, Schiefenhovel W, Underhill P, Shen P, Oefner P, Tommaseo-Ponzetta M, Stoneking M. (2003) Reduced Y-chromosome, but not mitochondrial DNA, diversity in human populations from West New Guinea. Am J Hum Genet 72:281302.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]
Kayser M, Brauer S, Weiss G, Schiefenhovel W, Underhill PA, Stoneking M. (2001) Independent histories of human Y chromosomes from Melanesia and Australia. Am J Hum Genet 68:17390.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]
Kayser M, Brauer S, Weiss G, Underhill PA, Roewer L, Schiefenhovel W, Stoneking M. (2000) Melanesian origin of Polynesian Y chromosomes. Curr Biol 10:123746.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]
Kayser M, Roewer L, Hedman M, et al. (2000) Characteristics and frequency of germline mutations at microsatellite loci from the human Y chromosome, as revealed by direct observation in father/son pairs. Am J Hum Genet 66:15808 (14 co-authors).[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]
Kirch PV. (2000) On the road of the wings: an archaeological history of the Pacific Islands before European contact. (University of California Press, London).
Kittler R, Erler A, Brauer S, Stoneking M, Kayser M. (2003) Apparent intrachromosomal exchange on the human Y chromosome explained by population history. Eur J Hum Genet 11:30414.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]
Kivisild T, Tolk HV, Parik J, Wang Y, Papiha SS, Bandelt HJ, Villems R. (2002) The emerging limbs and twigs of the East Asian mtDNA tree. Mol Biol Evol 19:173751.
Lell JT, Sukernik RI, Starikovskaya YB, Su B, Jin L, Schurr TG, Underhill PA, Wallace DC. (2002) The dual origin and Siberian affinities of Native American Y chromosomes. Am J Hum Genet 70:192206.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]
Lum JK, Jorde LB, Schiefenhovel W. (2002) Affinities among Melanesians, Micronesians, and Polynesians: a neutral biparental genetic perspective. Hum Biol 74:41330.[Web of Science][Medline]
Macaulay V, Richards M, Hickey E, Vega E, Cruciani F, Guida V, Scozzari R, Bonne-Tamir B, Sykes B, Torroni A. (1999) The emerging tree of West Eurasian mtDNAs: a synthesis of control-region sequences and RFLPs. Am J Hum Genet 64:23249.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]
Mack SJ, Bugawan TL, Moonsamy PV, et al. (2000) Evolution of Pacific/Asian populations inferred from HLA class II allele frequency distributions. Tissue Antigens 55:383400 (11 co-authors).[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]
Mack SJ and Erlich HA. (2005) Population relationships as inferred from classical HLA genes. HLA 2005: Immunobiology of the Human MHC, Proceedings of the 13th International Histocompatibility Workshop and Conference. 2005. (IHWG PressIn Hansen JA and Dupont B (Eds.). , Seattle, WA) Forthcoming.
Melton T, Peterson R, Redd AJ, Saha N, Sofro AS, Martinson J, Stoneking M. (1995) Polynesian genetic affinities with Southeast Asian populations as identified by mtDNA analysis. Am J Hum Genet 57:40314.[Web of Science][Medline]
Merriwether DA, Hodgson JA, Friedlaender FR, Allaby R, Cerchio S, Koki G, Friedlaender JS. (2005) Ancient mitochondrial M haplogroups identified in the Southwest Pacific. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 102:130349.
Neel JV. (1962) Diabetes mellitus: a "thrifty" genotype rendered detrimental by "progress"? . Am J Hum Genet 14:35362.[Web of Science][Medline]
Oppenheimer SJ and Richards M. (2001) Polynesian origins. Slow boat to Melanesia? Nature 410:1667.[Medline]
Redd AJ, Takezaki N, Sherry ST, McGarvey ST, Sofro AS, Stoneking M. (1995) Evolutionary history of the COII/tRNALys intergenic 9 base pair deletion in human mitochondrial DNAs from the Pacific. Mol Biol Evol 12:60415.[Abstract]
Ross M, Pawley A, Osmond M. (2003) The lexicon of Proto Oceanic. The culture and environment of ancestral Oceanic society. (Pacific Linguistics, Canberra, Australia).
Schneider S, Roessli D, Excoffier L. (2000) Arlequin ver 2.000: a software for population genetics data analysis(Genetics and Biometry Laboratory, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland).
Shepherd C, Harbison S, Vintiner J. (2004) Y STR haplotype data for New Zealand population groups using the Y-Plex 6 kit. Forensic Sci Int 145:6972.[Web of Science][Medline]
Su B, Xiao J, Underhill P, et al. (1999) Y-Chromosome evidence for a northward migration of modern humans into Eastern Asia during the last Ice Age. Am J Hum Genet 65:171824 (21 co-authors).[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]
Sykes B, Leiboff A, Low-Beer J, Tetzner S, Richards M. (1995) The origins of the Polynesians: an interpretation from mitochondrial lineage analysis. Am J Hum Genet 57:146375.[Web of Science][Medline]
Terrell JE. (1989) Commentary: what Lapita is and what Lapita isn't. Antiquity 63:6236.
Terrell JE. (1988) History as a family tree, history as an entangled bank: constructing images and interpretations of prehistory in the South Pacific. Antiquity 62:64257.
Terrell JE, Kelly KM, Rainbird P. (2001) Foregone conclusions? In search of "Papuans" and "Austronesians". Curr Anthropol 42:97124.[CrossRef]
Trejaut JA, Kivisild T, Loo JH, Lee CL, He CL, Hsu CJ, Li ZY, Lin M. (2005) Traces of archaic mitochondrial lineages persist in Austronesian-speaking Formosan populations. PLoS Biol 3:e247.[CrossRef][Medline]
Trent RJ, Buchanan JG, Webb A, Goundar RP, Seruvatu LM, Mickleson KN. (1988) Globin genes are useful markers to identify genetic similarities between Fijians and Pacific Islanders from Polynesia and Melanesia. Am J Hum Genet 42:6017.[Web of Science][Medline]
Trent RJ, Mickleson KN, Wilkinson T, Yakas J, Dixon MW, Hill PJ, Kronenberg H. (1986) Globin genes in Polynesians have many rearrangements including a recently described gamma gamma gamma gamma. Am J Hum Genet 39:35060.[Web of Science][Medline]
Trent RJ, Mickleson KN, Yakas J, Hertzberg M. (1988) Population genetics of the globin genes in Polynesians. Hemoglobin 12:5337.[Web of Science][Medline]
Underhill PA, Passarino G, Lin AA, Marzuki S, Oefner PJ, Cavalli-Sforza LL, Chambers GK. (2001) Maori origins, Y-chromosome haplotypes and implications for human history in the Pacific. Hum Mutat 17:27180.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]
Underhill PA, Passarino G, Lin AA, Shen P, Mirazon Lahr M, Foley RA, Oefner PJ, Cavalli-Sforza LL. (2001) The phylogeography of Y chromosome binary haplotypes and the origins of modern human populations. Ann Hum Genet 65:4362.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]
Underhill PA, Shen P, Lin AA, et al. (2000) Y chromosome sequence variation and the history of human populations. Nat Genet 26:35861 (21 co-authors).[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]
White JP, Allen J, Specht J. (1988) Peopling of the Pacific: the Lapita homeland project. Aust Nat Hist 22:4106.
Wilson IJ, Weale ME, Balding DJ. (2003) Inferences from DNA data: population histories, evolutionary processes and forensic match probabilities. J R Stat Soc Ser A (Statistics and Society) 166:15588.[CrossRef]
Zimmet P, Dowse G, Finch C, Serjeantson S, King H. (1990) The epidemiology and natural history of NIDDMlessons from the South Pacific. Diabetes Metab Rev 6:9124.[Web of Science][Medline]
![]()
CiteULike
Connotea
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
![]() |
D. S. Rogers, M. W. Feldman, and P. R. Ehrlich Inferring population histories using cultural data Proc R Soc B, November 7, 2009; 276(1674): 3835 - 3843. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
S. Mona, K. E. Grunz, S. Brauer, B. Pakendorf, L. Castri, H. Sudoyo, S. Marzuki, R. H. Barnes, J. Schmidtke, M. Stoneking, et al. Genetic Admixture History of Eastern Indonesia as Revealed by Y-Chromosome and Mitochondrial DNA Analysis Mol. Biol. Evol., August 1, 2009; 26(8): 1865 - 1877. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
R. D. Gray, A. J. Drummond, and S. J. Greenhill Language Phylogenies Reveal Expansion Pulses and Pauses in Pacific Settlement Science, January 23, 2009; 323(5913): 479 - 483. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
J. S. Lansing, J. C. Watkins, B. Hallmark, M. P. Cox, T. M. Karafet, H. Sudoyo, and M. F. Hammer Male dominance rarely skews the frequency distribution of Y chromosome haplotypes in human populations PNAS, August 19, 2008; 105(33): 11645 - 11650. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
R. Kimura, J. Ohashi, Y. Matsumura, M. Nakazawa, T. Inaoka, R. Ohtsuka, M. Osawa, and K. Tokunaga Gene Flow and Natural Selection in Oceanic Human Populations Inferred from Genome-Wide SNP Typing Mol. Biol. Evol., August 1, 2008; 25(8): 1750 - 1761. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
M. Kayser, Y. Choi, M. van Oven, S. Mona, S. Brauer, R. J. Trent, D. Suarkia, W. Schiefenhovel, and M. Stoneking The Impact of the Austronesian Expansion: Evidence from mtDNA and Y Chromosome Diversity in the Admiralty Islands of Melanesia Mol. Biol. Evol., July 1, 2008; 25(7): 1362 - 1374. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
T. M. Karafet, F. L. Mendez, M. B. Meilerman, P. A. Underhill, S. L. Zegura, and M. F. Hammer New binary polymorphisms reshape and increase resolution of the human Y chromosomal haplogroup tree Genome Res., May 1, 2008; 18(5): 830 - 838. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
S. Mona, M. Tommaseo-Ponzetta, S. Brauer, H. Sudoyo, S. Marzuki, and M. Kayser Patterns of Y-Chromosome Diversity Intersect with the Trans-New Guinea Hypothesis Mol. Biol. Evol., November 1, 2007; 24(11): 2546 - 2555. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
J. S. Lansing, M. P. Cox, S. S. Downey, B. M. Gabler, B. Hallmark, T. M. Karafet, P. Norquest, J. W. Schoenfelder, H. Sudoyo, J. C. Watkins, et al. Coevolution of languages and genes on the island of Sumba, eastern Indonesia PNAS, October 9, 2007; 104(41): 16022 - 16026. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
N. Howell, J. L. Elson, C. Howell, and D. M. Turnbull Relative Rates of Evolution in the Coding and Control Regions of African mtDNAs Mol. Biol. Evol., October 1, 2007; 24(10): 2213 - 2221. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
F. Cruciani, R. La Fratta, B. Trombetta, P. Santolamazza, D. Sellitto, E. B. Colomb, J.-M. Dugoujon, F. Crivellaro, T. Benincasa, R. Pascone, et al. Tracing Past Human Male Movements in Northern/Eastern Africa and Western Eurasia: New Clues from Y-Chromosomal Haplogroups E-M78 and J-M12 Mol. Biol. Evol., June 1, 2007; 24(6): 1300 - 1311. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
G. Hudjashov, T. Kivisild, P. A. Underhill, P. Endicott, J. J. Sanchez, A. A. Lin, P. Shen, P. Oefner, C. Renfrew, R. Villems, et al. Revealing the prehistoric settlement of Australia by Y chromosome and mtDNA analysis PNAS, May 22, 2007; 104(21): 8726 - 8730. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||









