Distribution of maternal lineages in hunter-gatherer societies of the southern coast of Tierra del Fuego, Argentina.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this work is to explore the maternal genetic diversity of hunter-gatherers of the southern Tierra del Fuego, specifically the north coast of Beagle Channel, the Península Mitre, and Isla de los Estados through ancient mitochondrial DNA analysis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The hypervariable regions 1 and 2 of the mitochondrial genome of five individuals from the north coast of Beagle Channel, six individuals from Península Mitre, and one individual from Isla de los Estados were analyzed. Through diversity statistics, Analysis of Molecular Variance (AMOVA), and Median Joining networks analyses, maternal relationships in the region were evaluated and phylogenetic similarities between ancient and contemporary populations of Tierra del Fuego were determined. RESULTS: The mitochondrial DNA lineages from the ancient individuals analyzed reveals the presence of subclades C1b and D1g. Pattern of decreasing genetic diversity toward the South is observed. The AMOVAs performed found no statistically significant differences between individuals of the north coast of Beagle Channel and Península Mitre-Isla de los Estados, and modern Yámana populations. Median joining network of haplotypes of clades C1 and D1g, show the same results. DISCUSSION: Ethnohistoric and ethnographic records of Península Mitre show that this region was occupied during the 19th century by Haush or Manekenk populations, although their biological, cultural, and subsistence characterization is unclear. We explore their maternal lineages and encounter low levels of genetic diversity and the absence of population differentiation with modern Yámana groups. We suggest that Península Mitre-Isla de los Estado was part of the same hunting and gathering populations as those of the Beagle Channel.

Identifying new lineages in the Y chromosome of Colombian Amazon indigenous populations.

OBJECTIVES: The Y chromosome has highly informative markers, such as single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), that are useful for making historical inferences about the settlement of the Americas. However, the scarcity of these markers has limited their use. This study aims to identify new SNPs and increase the phylogenetic resolution of haplogroup Q for the Americas, mainly focusing on the lineages of the Amazon region. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Next-generation sequencing was performed on two Y chromosomes belonging to haplogroup Q-M3 using samples with divergent short tandem repeat haplotypes from the Colombian Amazon, and 14 of the new variants identified were selected for characterization in 207 samples of indigenous Colombians belonging to haplogroup Q-M3. RESULTS: This methodology allowed us to establish nine new lineages within Q-M3, including its paragroups. The most basal lineages were predominant in communities of Andean origin, such as the Embera-Katio, the Nasas, and the Pastos. In contrast, the most distal lineages were restricted to inhabitants of the Amazon region of Vaupés. DISCUSSION: The SNPs reported here advance the development of subhaplogroups of Q-M3 with a higher level of phylogenetic resolution than has been previously reported, which allowed the differentiation between populations that inhabit two regions of Vaupes area: the Pirá-Paraná region and the upper and middle sections of the Vaupés River, and the region encompassing the Papurí River and the lower Vaupés. They are very useful for the microevolutionary analysis of the Amerindian populations of Colombia and of the Americas.

Insulin resistance and Beta-cell function in Colombian mestizo and Embera-Chamí populations and their relation with adiposity degree

Background and objective: Insulin resistance (IR) is a condition favored by metabolic and endocrine changes experienced by adipose tissue in the context of obesity. The prevalence and the presentation of both IR and obesity vary among the populations, and may be affected by ancestral genetic composition among other factors. The aim of this study was to compare the presence of IR and obesity in Amerindians of the Embera-Chamí ethnicity and Colombian mestizo population. Patients and methods: A sample of 630 individuals, 471 mestizos and 159 Amerindians of the Embera-Chamí ethnicity, from the general population of Colombia were studied. For each participant, anthropometric and biochemical measurements, as well as blood pressure and the Homeostatic Model Assessment (HOMA) of IR and β-cell function (%B) were recorded. These values were compared between the two populations. Results: While prevalence of central obesity was similar in both populations (48.7% and 42.6% in the mestizo and Embera groups respectively; p=0.148), body mass index (BMI) values suggested a higher prevalence of overweight in the Embera than in mestizo population (43.4% Embera, 31.8% mestizo; p=0.027). Despite the similarities in the prevalence of HOMA-IR and HOMA-%B status between both populations, the Embera population had a significantly greater pancreatic β-cell function, higher insulin levels, and better glucose control, across BMI and central obesity categories, than the mestizo population. Conclusion: There are differences in aspects related to energy metabolism between the samples of the mestizo and Amerindian populations analyzed (AU)

Antecedentes y objetivo: La resistencia a la insulina (RI) es una condición favorecida por las alteraciones metabólicas y endocrinológicas experimentadas por el tejido adiposo en el contexto de obesidad. Tanto la prevalencia como la presentación de RI y obesidad varían entre las poblaciones y puede ser afectada, entre otros factores, por la composición genética ancestral. El objetivo de este estudio fue comparar la presentación tanto de RI como de obesidad entre amerindios de la etnia embera-chamí y población mestiza colombiana. Pacientes y métodos: Se estudió una muestra de 630 individuos de la población general mestiza colombiana (471 individuos) y de amerindios de la etnia embera-chamí (159 individuos). Para todos los participantes se registraron tanto medidas antropométricas, bioquímicas así como de presión arterial y el índice homeostatic model assessment (HOMA) para la RI y función de la célula β, valores que fueron comparados entre las poblaciones. Resultados: Mientras que ambas poblaciones mostraron una prevalencia de obesidad central similar (48,7% en mestizos, 42,6% en embera; p=0,148), los embera presentaron mayor exceso de peso de acuerdo al índice de masa corporal que los mestizos (43,4% en embera, 31,8% en mestizos; p=0,027). A pesar de las similitudes en la prevalencia de HOMA2-RI y HOMA2- %B entre ambas poblaciones, los embera presentan una función significativamente mayor de las células β del páncreas, niveles de insulina comparativamente mayores y un mejor control glucémico que los mestizos. Conclusión: Existen diferencias en aspectos del metabolismo energético entre las muestras de población mestiza y amerindia analizadas (AU)

Los wichis y la inequidad en salud / Wichis and health inequity

La etnia wichi fue catalogada por la etnografía como perteneciente a la familia Mataco-Mataguayo que originalmente ocupó vastas extenciones del noroeste argentino. El presente artículo de interés general comenta datos estadísticos y la situación sanitaria actual de ésta poblacion y las decisiones políticas que actualmente ponen de manifiesto las necesidades de tomar conciencia de esta dura realidad social.

The wichi ethnicity was listed by ethnography as belonging to the family Mataco-Mataguayo originally occupied vast extensions of northwestern Argentina. This article says general interest statistics and the current health status of this population and the political decisions that currently show needs to realize this harsh social reality.

Los wichis y la inequidad en salud / Wichis and health inequity

La etnia wichi fue catalogada por la etnografía como perteneciente a la familia Mataco-Mataguayo que originalmente ocupó vastas extenciones del noroeste argentino. El presente artículo de interés general comenta datos estadísticos y la situación sanitaria actual de ésta poblacion y las decisiones políticas que actualmente ponen de manifiesto las necesidades de tomar conciencia de esta dura realidad social.(AU)

The wichi ethnicity was listed by ethnography as belonging to the family Mataco-Mataguayo originally occupied vast extensions of northwestern Argentina. This article says general interest statistics and the current health status of this population and the political decisions that currently show needs to realize this harsh social reality.(AU)

Male lineages in South American native groups: evidence of M19 traveling south.

With this study, we aimed to determine the different male ancestral components of two Native American communities from Argentina, namely Toba and Colla. The analysis of 27 Y-chromosome SNPs allowed us to identify seven different haplogroups in both samples. Chromosomes carrying the M3 mutation, which typically defines the Native American haplogroup Q1a3a, were seen most frequently in the Toba community (90%). Conversely, Q1a3a was represented in 34% of the Colla Y-chromosomes, whereas haplogroup R1b1, the main representative of western European populations, exhibited the highest frequency in this population (41%). Different M3 sublineages in the Toba community could be identified by observing point mutations at both DYS385 and M19 loci. A microvariant at DYS385, named 16.1, has been characterized, which helps to further subdivide Q1a3a. It is the first time the M19 mutated allele is described in a population from Argentina. This finding supports the old age of the lineages carrying the M19 mutation, but it contradicts the previous hypothesis that the M19 mutated allele is confined to only two Equatorial-Tucano population groups from the north region of South America. The detection of M19 further south than previously thought allows questioning of the hypothesis that this lineage serves as an example of isolation after colonization. This observation also affirms the strong genetic drift to which Native Americans have been subjected. Moreover, our study illustrates a heterogeneous contribution of Europeans to these populations and supports previous studies showing that most Native American groups were subjected to European admixture that primarily involved immigrant men.

High prevalence of rheumatoid factor associated with clinical manifestations of rheumatic disease in Kaingang and Guarani Indians from Southern Brazil.

The aim of the present study was to perform a screening for rheumatoid factor (RF) and anti-nuclear antibody in Kaingang, Guarani and Mestizos individuals from Mangueirinha Reservation, State of Paraná, Brazil, and associate it with demographic and clinical data. Serum samples from 321 aborigines (125 male and 196 female; 4-86 years old) and 180 non-Indians healthy individuals were analysed (62 male and 118 female; 2-81 years old). Antinuclear antibody (ANA) was tested by indirect immunofluorescence, and RF by agglutination in latex and turbidimetry. RF was higher in Kaingang when compared to Guarani (P = 0.009), Mestizos (P = 0.061) and non-Indians (P = 0.010). A significant increase of RF was observed in Kaingang women versus Kaingang men (P = 0.002) and, among the women, in Kaingang when compared to Mestizos and Guarani (P

The genetic divergence of prehistoric populations of the south-central Andes as established by means of craniometric traits.

The peopling of the south-central Andean region can be determined by exploring a combination of cultural, economic, and biological factors that influence the structure of populations and determine particular dispersals of gene frequencies. Quantitative characters from 1,586 adult crania of both sexes from northern Chile, northwestern Argentina, and the Cochabamba valleys in Bolivia were analyzed employing multivariate statistical analyses. Biological distances, representing phenotypic variation between these regions and their subregions, were studied within a population genetics framework. An analysis of Mahalanobis D(2) distances establishes two principle directions of interaction: the first between the Cochabamba valleys and northern Chile, and the second between the Cochabamba region and northwestern Argentina. The Chile and Argentina regions are shown to be less related to each other than each is to the Bolivian region. A higher mean genetic divergence is found for the entire region (F(ST) = 0.195); with northwestern Argentina having the highest spatial isolation (F(ST) = 0.143) and northern Chile the lowest (F(ST) = 0.061). These results allow us to propose a populating model based on the dispersion of several lines from a common ancestral population similar to those who inhabited the Cochabamba valleys. These lines differentiated themselves in time and space according to the effective size and the rate of gene flow, eventually producing the human groups which inhabited the valleys of northern Chile and northwestern Argentina.

Uniparental (mtDNA, Y-chromosome) polymorphisms in French Guiana and two related populations--implications for the region's colonization.

Blood samples collected in four Amerindian French Guiana populations (Palikur, Emerillon, Wayampi and Kali'na) in the early 1980s were screened for selected mtDNA and Y-chromosome length polymorphisms, and sequenced for the mtDNA hypervariable segment I (HVS-I). In addition, two other Amerindian populations (Apalaí and Matsiguenga) were examined for the same markers to establish the genetic relationships in the area. Strong dissimilarities were observed in the distribution of the founding Amerindian haplogroups, and significant p-values were obtained from F(ST) genetic distances. Interpopulation similarities occurred mainly due to geography. The Palikur did not show obvious genetic similarity to the Matsiguenga, who speak the same language and live in a region from where they could have migrated to French Guiana. The African-origin admixture observed in the Kali'na probably derives from historical contacts they had with the Bushinengue (Noir Marron), a group of escaped slaves who now lead independent lives in a nearby region. This analysis has identified significant clues about the Amerindian peopling of the North-East Amazonian region.

O povo das águas pretas: o caboclo amazônico do rio Negro / The people of the black waters: the Amazon caboclo of the Negro river

Apresenta uma descrição historicamente contextualizada do povo que vive ao longo do rio Negro, afluente brasileiro da bacia do Amazonas. Processos de constituição da população e das comunidades são identificados, nas fontes, a partir da experiência social cotidiana dos partícipes do processo histórico estudado, o qual percorre o século XX até a metade de sua última década. No rio Negro, o contato entre a sociedade brasileira e os diversos grupos indígenas que ali viviam, autóctones e catequizados, foi determinante para a constituição da identidade cabocla do território. A partir do último quartel do século XIX, a nomenclatura consolidou-se e vulgarizou-se, tendo na empresa extrativista um forte elemento propagador, em um contexto em que predominam as relações sociais constituintes da cultura do barracão.

The article constructs a historically contextualized description of the people who live along the Negro river, a Brazilian affluent in the Amazon basin. Drawing on information about the daily social experience of the participants from the dawn of the twentieth century through the mid-1990s, the processes by which the population and communities took shape are identified. On the Negro river, contact between Brazilian society and the autochthonous, catechized indigenous groups living there was determinant in shaping the territory's caboclo identity. Starting in the last quarter of the nineteenth century, this nomenclature took root and entered the popular lexicon. Extractivist activities played a major role in spreading the term, within a context where the predominant social relations derived from the 'cultura do barracão'.

Human skeletal remains from Sabana de Bogotá, Colombia: a case of Paleoamerican morphology late survival in South America?

Human skeletal remains of the first Americans are scarce, especially in North America. In South America the situation is less dramatic. Two important archaeological regions have generated important collections that allow the analysis of the cranial morphological variation of the Early Americans: Lagoa Santa, Brazil, and Sabana de Bogotá, Colombia. Human crania from the former region have been studied by one of us (WAN) and collaborators, showing that the cranial morphology of the first South Americans was very different from that prevailing today in East Asia and among Native Americans. These results have allowed for proposing that the New World may have been colonized by two different biological populations in the final Pleistocene/early Holocene. In this study, 74 human skulls dated between 11.0 and 3.0 kyr, recovered in seven different sites of Sabana de Bogotá, Colombia, were compared with the world cranial variation by different multivariate techniques: Principal Components Analysis, Multidimensional Scaling, and Cluster of Mahalanobis distance matrices. The Colombian skeletal remains were divided in two chronological subgroups: Paleocolombians (11.0-6.0 kyr) and Archaic Colombians (5.0-3.0 kyr). Both quantitative techniques generated convergent results: the Paleocolombians show remarkable similarities with Lagoa Santa and with modern Australo-Melanesians. Archaic Colombians exhibited the same morphological patterns and associations. These findings support our long-held proposition that the early American settlement may have involved two very distinct biological populations coming from Asia. On the other hand, they suggest the possibility of late survivals of the Paleoamerican pattern not restricted to isolated or marginal areas, as previously thought.

Morphological differentiation of aboriginal human populations from Tierra del Fuego (Patagonia): implications for South American peopling.

This study aims to integrate the craniofacial morphological variation of southern South American populations with the results of mtDNA haplogroup variation, to discuss the South America peopling. Because the causes of morphological differentiation of Fueguian populations are still a controversial subject, the comparison with neutral variation could contribute to elucidate them. Samples of human remains from South America regions were used to analyze the evolutionary relationships. Several craniofacial traits observed in frontal and lateral view were analyzed by means of geometric morphometrics techniques, and the evolutionary relationships based on morphological and molecular data were established in base to ordination analyses. The results from the facial skeleton agree with those obtained from mtDNA haplogroup frequencies, with La Pampa/Chaco samples detached from the Patagonian samples. Hence, the same mechanism that accounts for the pattern of frequency of haplogroups could explain the variation found in facial skeleton among the samples. It is suggested that such geographic pattern of craniofacial and molecular diversity may reflect the effect of genetic drift that occurred in the small founding populations isolated by distance or geographic barriers. Conversely, the results obtained using the traits from the lateral view slightly differ from the molecular results, showing differences between southernmost Patagonian and the other samples. Therefore, mechanisms other than genetic drift (e.g., natural selection) could have acted to shape the pattern observed in some craniofacial structures present in the lateral view, characterized by the fact that the southernmost Patagonian samples display the most robust and dolichocephalic crania.

Genetic studies in French Guiana populations: Synthesis.

Twelve blood group and protein systems from a total of 819 individuals from six tribal groups (Apalaí-Wayana, Emerillon, Kaliña, Palikur Wayampi, and Wayana) living in French Guiana and Brazil were compared with each other and integrated with previous results from 17 other South Amerindian populations studied for the same genetic markers. Using correspondence analysis, map methodologies, and maximum linkage cluster analysis developed with the UPGMA method, we attempted to establish the genetic position of these tribes among South American Indians. Peripheral positions for the Emerillon and the Palikur were observed. Ethnohistorical data in French Guiana suggest that a strong founder effect for the former and endogamy for the latter could have generated the genetic differentiation of these two ethnic groups. However, when considered in a wider context, all French Guiana Natives cluster together in an intermediate position as compared with 17 other Amerindian groups studied for the comparison.

Demographic and evolutionary trajectories of the Guarani and Kaingang natives of Brazil.

A total of 278 individuals from two Brazilian Indian tribes (Guarani and Kaingang) living in five different localities had their mitochondrial DNA sequenced for the first hypervariable segment (HVS-I), and a fraction of them was also studied for seven biallelic Y-chromosome polymorphisms. Nineteen HVS-I lineages were detected, which showed distinct distributions in the two tribes. The G(ST) value obtained with the mtDNA data is about 5 times higher for the Guarani as compared to the Kaingang, suggesting a higher level of differentiation between the three Guarani partialities than between the two Kaingang villages. Non-Amerindian admixture varied with sex and in the Guarani was only observed through the paternal line. Using these data and those of other Tupian and Jêan tribes, it was possible to make inferences about past migratory movements and the genetic differentiation of these populations.

[The people of the black waters: the Amazon caboclo of the Negro river]. / O povo das águas pretas: o caboclo amazônico do rio Negro.

The article constructs a historically contextualized description of the people who live along the Negro river, a Brazilian affluent in the Amazon basin. Drawing on information about the daily social experience of the participants from the dawn of the twentieth century through the mid-1990s, the processes by which the population and communities took shape are identified. On the Negro river, contact between Brazilian society and the autochthonous, catechized indigenous groups living there was determinant in shaping the territory's caboclo identity. Starting in the last quarter of the nineteenth century, this nomenclature took root and entered the popular lexicon. Extractivist activities played a major role in spreading the term, within a context where the predominant social relations derived from the 'cultura do barracão'.

HLA genes in Mexican Teeneks: HLA genetic relationship with other worldwide populations.

The HLA allele frequency distribution of the Mexican Teenek Indians has been studied and compared with those of other First American Natives and worldwide populations (a total of 15694 chromosomes from 73 different populations were analyzed). This study corroborate the restricted HLA polymorphism in the Amerindian populations and demonstrate how the Amerindians show a relatively homogeneity as opposed to other First Native American groups. Finally, the present data support previous ones that state the lack of complete correlation between language and genetics in micro-environmental studies; Teenek Mayan language does not correspond with a close Mayan (Guatemala) relatedness.

Molecular characterization of a pre-Columbian mummy and in situ coprolite.

The history of Homo sapiens dispersal around the world and inherent interpopulation contacts and conflicts has given rise to several transitions in his relationships with the natural world, with the final result of changes in the patterns of infectious disease (McMichael [2001] Ecosystem Health 7:107-115). Of particular interest, in this context, is the contact between Amerindians and Europeans that started at the end of the 15th century, and the resulting exchange of microbes. We successfully recovered ancient DNA from a pre-Columbian mummy from Cuzco (Peru), radiocarbon-dated to 980-1170 AD, for which consistent mtDNA amplifications and sequences were obtained. The analysis of mtDNA revealed that the mummy's haplogroup was characteristic of Native American populations. We also investigated a sample of feces directly isolated from the intestines of the mummy, using a polymerase chain reaction system designed to detect the broadest spectrum of bacterial DNAs. The analysis of results, following a criterion of "paleoecological consistency" (Rollo and Marota [1998] Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. [Biol.] 354: 111-119), demonstrated that some vestiges of the original microbial flora of the feces were preserved. In particular, we were able to identify the DNA of Haemophylus parainfluenzae, thus suggesting that this recently recognized pathogen was present in precontact Native Americans.

Estudio etnográfico sobre las enfermedades neurológicas y mentales entre los urus-chipayas del altiplano andino / Ethnographic study of neurological and mental diseases among the uru-chipaya peoples of the andean altiplano

Introducción. Los urus-chipayas son un grupo étnico de2.500 personas, descendientes de culturas andinas primitivas. Suaislamiento (viven a 4.000 metros de altitud en el sur de Bolivia),su lengua no escrita (chipaya-puquina), su forma tradicional devida, indumentaria y costumbres, semejante a la llevada a cabodurante milenios, hacen que ésta sea una cultura insólita. El objetivode nuestro trabajo fue realizar un estudio etnográfico sobre lasenfermedades neurológicas de este pueblo, la concepción que tienensobre ellas y sus pautas terapéuticas. Desarrollo. Estudio etnográficode campo realizado en junio de 2004. Se realizó una entrevistaestructurada con un yatiri o curandero chipaya para clasificarlas enfermedades neurológicas y mentales. La epilepsia (tukuri)es interpretada como la consecuencia de la entrada de un malespíritu por la nariz. Su tratamiento consiste en ingerir una infusiónque contiene un polvo seco de mariposa (jesko), aves o curupancho.La achamixi (cefalea) es común, se trata lavando la cabezacon orina fermentada del yatiri, bebiendo la infusión de la plantachachacoma y mediante el acto de soplar que el yatiri realizasobre la cabeza del paciente. El susto, cuyos síntomas semejan untrastorno de estrés postraumático, se trata con la wilancha, sacrificioritual de una llama, dedicada a la Pachamama. La tristeza,equivalente cultural de la depresión, se trata con infusiones deayrampo, una planta altoandina. Existe también la psicosis (sumsu)que se trata con wilancha, y el retraso mental/encefalopatíaestática (pustkis), considerados consecuencia del susto que la madreadquiere en el embarazo. No fuimos informados sobre la existenciade patología extrapiramidal ni vascular. Conclusiones. Losequivalentes culturales de ciertas patologías neurológicas (cefalea,epilepsia, retraso mental, ansiedad y depresión) están presentesen esta cultura ancestral

Introduction. The Uru-Chipaya people are an ethnic group of about 2,500 people, descendants of primitive Andeancultures. Their isolation (they live at an altitude of 4,000 metres in southern Bolivia), their non-written language (Chipaya-Puquina) and their traditional way of life, clothing and customs, which are similar to those used for thousands of years, makethis an unusual culture. The aim of our work was to carry out an ethnographic study of the neurological diseases experienced bythese people, the way they conceive such disorders and their therapeutic approaches to them. Development. An ethnographicfield study was conducted in June 2004. A structured interview was held with a yatiri, or Chipaya healer, to allow classificationof the neurological or mental diseases. Epilepsy (tukuri) is interpreted as being a consequence of an evil spirit entering throughthe nose. Treatment consists in drinking an infusion containing dried powdered butterfly (jesko), birds or curupancho. Achamixi(headache) is common and is treated by drinking the yatiri’s fermented urine, herb tea made from the chachacoma plant and byblowing, which is done by the yatiri over the patient’s head. Fright, the symptoms of which are similar to those of a posttraumaticstress disorder, is treated by a wilancha, that is, the ritual sacrifice of a llama offered to the Pachamama. Sadness, thecultural equivalent to depression, is treated with infusions made from ayrampo, a plant found in the Andean Altiplano. Psychosis(sumsu), which is treated by means of a wilancha, and mental retardation/static encephalopathy (pustkis), which are consideredto be a result of a fright suffered by the mother during pregnancy, also exist. No mention was made of the existence of extrapyramidalor vascular pathologies. Conclusion. The cultural equivalents of certain neurological pathologies (headache, epilepsy,mental retardation, anxiety and depression) are present in this ancestral culture