Paternal Origin of Yi People in Southwestern China: Insights from Phylogeographics of Founder Lineage

Document Type

Article

Authors

Shi-Jie Xie, Inner Mongolia Normal UniversityFollow
Jia-Ni Lu, Guizhou Normal UniversityFollow
Hui Li, Fudan UniversityFollow
Xian-Peng Zhang, Inner Mongolia Normal UniversityFollow
Lan-Hai Wei, Inner Mongolia Normal University and Fudan UniversityFollow

Open Access Pre-Print

https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/humbiol_preprints/225/

Abstract

The Yi people in southwestern China are renowned for their unique history, social structure, and customs. However, due to extensive genetic admixture during their formative period, the early origin and evolutionary trajectory of the Yi people remain unclear. In this study, we identify four paternal founder lineages of Yi people and generate a highly revised phylogenetic tree for these four lineages with 66 sequences. Furthermore, the geographic distribution of four lineages within China is summarized, based on 465 individuals identified among 60,009 Chinese males. The divergence topology indicates that among all Tibeto-Burman-speaking populations, the Naxi, Bai, and Burmese populations exhibit the closest genetic affinity with the Yi people. The distribution of four founder lineages shows similar higher frequency in the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, the center of the Yi people’s inhabited area. We conduct an in-depth analysis of the possible origin, migration patterns, and roles of these four components in the demographic history of the Yi people.

Recommended Citation

Xie, Shi-Jie; Lu, Jia-Ni; Li, Hui; Zhang, Xian-Peng; and Wei, Lan-Hai (2023) "Paternal Origin of Yi People in Southwestern China: Insights from Phylogeographics of Founder Lineage," Human Biology: Vol. 95: Iss. 3, Article 4.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/humbiol/vol95/iss3/4