Molecular characterization of mitochondrial Amerindian haplogroups and the amelogenin gene in human ancient DNA from three archaeological sites in Lambayeque - Peru.

Jorge Victor Wilfredo Cachay Wester,Carlos Eduardo Wester La Torre,Luis Alberto Rodriguez-Delfin,Vanny Judith Soplapuco Vilchez

doi:10.1590/1678-4685-gmb-2019-0265

Jorge Victor Wilfredo Cachay Wester, Carlos Eduardo Wester La Torre + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.1590/1678-4685-gmb-2019-0265

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Abstract

Important pre-Inca civilizations, known by their great political and religious structures, inhabited the northern coast of Peru. Archeological and anthropological studies have shown that people from these villages have hierarchical strata, but the genetic structure has been poorly studied. Here, we aimed to perform a molecular characterization of the Amerindian maternal lineages and the amelogenin gene in skeletons collected from three archeological sites in Lambayeque. Ancient DNA (aDNA) samples were analyzed with conventional PCR to assess the nine-base pair (9 bp) deletion corresponding to mitochondrial haplogroup B and the identification of haplogroups A, C, and D were obtained with PCR-RFLP experiments. The sex was characterized via amplification of the AMEL(X/Y) locus. Haplogroup frequencies were compared with available data from other ancient and modern civilizations from the Peruvian coast and highlands using statistical methods. Our results showed that haplogroup C had the highest frequency, while haplogroup B showed variable diversity in the analyzed populations. The meta-analysis revealed a positive correlation among some coastal villages. We concluded that ancient populations analyzed in our study showed the presence of four Amerindian mitochondrial haplogroups, which is consistent with previous studies.

Highlights

Lambayeque is located on the northern coast of Peru
To investigate the maternal relationships around the ancient Peruvian coast and highlands, we aimed to study the maternal heritage and the amelogenin gene by using ancient DNA obtained from human remains of three archeological sites in Lambayeque
Molecular anthropology studies in the Andes are helping to clarify our understanding of population dynamics in South America

Summary

Introduction

Lambayeque is located on the northern coast of Peru This place was an important socio-political center for ancient pre-Inca civilizations such as Moche (100 C.E.–700 C.E.), Sipan (250 C.E.), Sican (900 C.E.–1100 C.E.), and Lambayeque (Naylamp) (700 C.E.–1375 C.E.). (Wester La Torre et al, 2014; Klaus et al, 2016) This civilization was initially identified as part of the Sican culture, but new archeological and anthropological evidence has pointed to the existence of a well-structured socio-political civilization that preceded Sican, and its rise coincided with the end of Moche culture (Klaus and Tam, 2009). The expansion of the Lambayeque civilization toward the Jequetepeque valley indicated that there was a migration process to the south of the northern coast and to the highlands due to political and economic reasons. There is a possibility of admixture with other civilizations (Castillo and Donnan, 1994) in such a way that it is important to study the genetic structure of this population

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