‘Indian populations mixed relatively recently’: Priya Moorjani
Priya Moorjani of University of California, Berkeley, says Indian population genetics studies reveal that widespread mixture occurred relatively recently, followed by a significant shift towards endogamy
Priya Moorjani's research at UC Berkeley, using genetic correlations, estimates that Indian populations experienced widespread mixing relatively recently, followed by a trend towards endogamy. The Rakhigarhi genome analysis indicates the absence of steppe ancestry during the Harappan civilization, suggesting its later arrival in South Asia. Studies involving 2,700 whole genome sequences provide a detailed view of India's population history over 50,000 years, linking past population events to current genetic diversity and health outcomes, highlighting the profound connection between ancestral history and present-day well-being.
Priya Moorjani's research at UC Berkeley, using genetic correlations, estimates that Indian populations experienced widespread mixing relatively recently, followed by a trend towards endogamy. The Rakhigarhi genome analysis indicates the absence of steppe ancestry during the Harappan civilization, suggesting its later arrival in South Asia. Studies involving 2,700 whole genome sequences provide a detailed view of India's population history over 50,000 years, linking past population events to current genetic diversity and health outcomes, highlighting the profound connection between ancestral history and present-day well-being.
Priya Moorjani's research at UC Berkeley, using genetic correlations, estimates that Indian populations experienced widespread mixing relatively recently, followed by a trend towards endogamy. The Rakhigarhi genome analysis indicates the absence of steppe ancestry during the Harappan civilization, suggesting its later arrival in South Asia. Studies involving 2,700 whole genome sequences provide a detailed view of India's population history over 50,000 years, linking past population events to current genetic diversity and health outcomes, highlighting the profound connection between ancestral history and present-day well-being.
Interview/ Priya Moorjani, University of California, Berkeley
Q/ Your studies have estimated when different Indian populations got mixed. How did you arrive at that timeline, and how was it received?
We used correlations between genetic variants across the genome to infer the timing. These patterns decay over generations as recombination occurs, which allows us to estimate when mixing occurred. The findings were surprising because they showed that widespread mixture occurred relatively recently, followed by a shift toward endogamy. The work generated significant interest, both within genetics and more broadly.
Q/ How do you interpret the Rakhigarhi findings?
The Rakhigarhi genome provides an important snapshot of the Harappan civilization and shows no detectable steppe-related ancestry at that time. This suggests that steppe ancestry entered south Asia later, consistent with other lines of genetic evidence. However, the sample has very limited coverage, and we need higher quality and more ancient genomes from India and other regions, like central Asia and Iran across time periods, to fully understand the population history of the subcontinent.
Q/ One of your recent studies based on around 2,700 whole genome sequences explored both population history and diseases. What are the key findings?
These data provide a fine-scale view of population structure across the past 50,000 years of evolutionary history of India and highlight the impact of population mixture and founder events on genetic diversity of present-day individuals. Specifically, they allowed us to reconstruct multiple layers of ancestry and to study how founder events have shaped patterns of variation. Overall, these results highlight how deeply population history is intertwined with present-day genetic diversity and health in India.