Abstract
The Cham people are the major Austronesian speakers of Mainland Southeast Asia (MSEA) and the reconstruction of the Cham population history can provide insights into their diffusion. In this study, we analyzed non-recombining region of the Y chromosome markers of 177 unrelated males from four populations in MSEA, including 59 Cham, 76 Kinh, 25 Lao, and 17 Thai individuals. Incorporating published data from mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), our results indicated that, in general, the Chams are an indigenous Southeast Asian population. The origin of the Cham people involves the genetic admixture of the Austronesian immigrants from Island Southeast Asia (ISEA) with the local populations in MSEA. Discordance between the overall patterns of Y chromosome and mtDNA in the Chams is evidenced by the presence of some Y chromosome lineages that prevail in South Asians. Our results suggest that male-mediated dispersals via the spread of religions and business trade might play an important role in shaping the patrilineal gene pool of the Cham people.
Highlights
The Austronesian language family is one of the largest and most widespread language families
Does patrilineal history reveal the same story? We address this question by evaluating non-recombining region of the Y chromosome (NRY) markers, including 26 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (Y-SNPs) and eight short tandem repeats (YSTRs), in 59 male Cham individuals whose matrilineal histories are known [10]
Phylogeny of Y chromosomes Based on 26 Y-SNPs, all 177 newly genotyped males from the four populations were assigned to specifichaplogroups
Summary
The Austronesian language family is one of the largest and most widespread language families. It is spoken by more than 350 million people on islands from Madagascar to Easter Island [1,2]. The representative language of the family, is spoken by the Cham people. In Mainland Southeast Asia (MSEA), Chamic exists as a ‘‘linguistic enclave’’, because it is surrounded by non-Austronesian-speaking groups (e.g. Mon-Khmers) [3,4,5]. Many studies investigate the diffusion of Austronesian in MSEA by tracing the origin of the Cham people. Because the origin of the Cham people is open to debate, the demographic history of the Austronesians in Southeast Asia requires further investigation
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