Abstract
Because of the widespread phenomenon of patrilocality, it is hypothesized that Y-chromosome variants tend to be more localized geographically than those of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Empirical evidence confirmatory to this hypothesis was subsequently provided among certain patrilocal and matrilocal groups of Thailand, which conforms to the isolation by distance mode of gene diffusion. However, we expect intuitively that the patterns of genetic variability may not be consistent with the above hypothesis among populations with different social norms governing the institution of marriage, particularly among those that adhere to strict endogamy rules. We test the universality of this hypothesis by analyzing Y-chromosome and mtDNA data in three different sets of Indian populations that follow endogamy rules to varying degrees. Our analysis of the Indian patrilocal and the matrilocal groups is not confirmatory to the sex-specific variation observed among the tribes of Thailand. Our results indicate spatial instability of the impact of different cultural processes on the genetic variability, resulting in the lack of universality of the hypothesized pattern of greater Y-chromosome variation when compared to that of mtDNA among the patrilocal populations.
Highlights
The genetic patterns in human societies are often fashioned by their cultural practices
The average genetic distances in the Dravidian patrilocal groups are smaller for mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and larger for Y-chromosome but not significantly so when compared with the matrilocal Khasi groups
The index of probability of identity, which gives a quantitative measure of haplotype sharing between a pair of populations, further suggests, as against the hypothesis, that the degree of Y-chromosome haplotype sharing (Table 2), not significant, is substantially higher among the patrilocal Mundari groups when compared with the Matrilocal Khasi tribes, whereas the degree of mtDNA haplotype sharing is almost identical for both groups
Summary
The genetic patterns in human societies are often fashioned by their cultural practices. Due to movement of females in patrilocal groups, the mtDNA diversity is assumed to be high within the populations and low between the populations, whereas the Ychromosome diversity will be relatively low within the groups and high between the groups This pattern is expected to be reversed in case of the matrilocal groups (a pattern of residence where the males after marriage reside in the inlaw’s house). Empirical evidence confirmatory to this hypothesis was subsequently provided by Oota et al [5] among the three patrilocal and three matrilocal groups of Thailand They found genetic diversity to be strikingly correlated with residence patterns suggesting the role of sex-specific patterns of migration in influencing the genetic patterns. The universality of the above hypothesis, i.e., the pattern of genetic variation vis-a -vis the residence pattern of spouses, is in question
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