The genomic analysis of current-day North African populations reveals the existence of trans-Saharan migrations with different origins and dates

Abstract

The Sahara Desert has acted as a barrier to human gene-flow between the northern and central parts of Africa since its aridification. Nonetheless, some contacts between both sides of the desert have occurred throughout history, mainly driven by commercial activity. Part of this was the infamous trans-Saharan slave trade, which forcedly brought peoples from south of the Sahara to North Africa from Roman times until the nineteenth century. Although historical records exist, the genetic aspects of these trans-Saharan migrations have not been deeply studied. In the present study, we assess the genetic influence of trans-Saharan migrations in current-day North Africa and characterize its amount, geographical origin, and dates. We confirm the heterogeneous and generally low-frequency presence of genomic segments of sub-Saharan origin in present-day North Africans acquired in recent historical times, and we show evidence of at least two admixture events: one dated around the thirteenth–fourteenth centuries CE between North Africans and a Western-sub-Saharan-like source similar to current-day Senegambian populations, and another one dated around the seventeenth century CE involving Tunisians and an Eastern-sub-Saharan-like source related to current-day south-Sudan and Kenyan populations. Time and location coincide with the peak of trans-Saharan slave-trade activity between Western African empires and North African powers, and are also concordant with the possibility of continuous recent south-to-north gene-flow. These findings confirm the trans-Saharan human genetic contacts, providing new and precise evidence about its possible dates and geographical origins, which are pivotal to understanding the genomic composition of an underrepresented region such as North Africa.