Ancient Jomon genome sequence analysis sheds light on migration patterns of early East Asian populations

• DOI: 10.1038/s42003-020-01162-2
• Publication Date: 2020-08-25T10:04:04Z
• Authors: Takashi Gakuhari; Shigeki Nakagome; Simon Rasmussen; Morten E. Allentoft; Takehiro Sato; Thorfinn Korneliu...; Blánaid Ní Chuinn...; Hiromi Matsumae; Kae Koganebuchi; Ryan Schmidt; Souichiro Mizushima; Osamu Kondo; Nobuo Shigehara; Minoru Yoneda; Ryosuke Kimura; Hajime Ishida; Tadayuki Masuyama; Yasuhiro Yamada; Atsushi Tajima; Hiroki Shibata; Atsushi Toyoda; Toshiyuki Tsurumoto; Tetsuaki Wakebe; Hiromi Shitara; Tsunehiko Hanihara; Eske Willerslev; Martin Sikora; Hiroki Oota
• Keywords: 0301 basic medicine; OKHOTSK PEOPLE; JAPANESE; Human Migration; Statistics as Topic; MITOCHONDRIAL-DNA ANALYSIS; AINU; /631/208/457; Article; /631/181/27; 03 medical and health sciences; Asian People; HISTORY; Humans; DNA, Ancient; /631/208/182; 0303 health sciences; Base Sequence; Asia, Eastern; Genome, Human; article; Sequence Analysis, DNA; TIANYUAN CAVE; /631/181/2474; ORIGINS; /631/181/19; HUMAN GENETIC DIVERSITY; NONMETRIC CRANIAL VARIATION; NEANDERTHAL

AbstractAnatomically modern humans reached East Asia more than 40,000 years ago. However, key questions still remain unanswered with regard to the route(s) and the number of wave(s) in the dispersal into East Eurasia. Ancient genomes at the edge of the region may elucidate a more detailed picture of the peopling of East Eurasia. Here, we analyze the whole-genome sequence of a 2,500-year-old individual (IK002) from the main-island of Japan that is characterized with a typical Jomon culture. The phylogenetic analyses support multiple waves of migration, with IK002 forming a basal lineage to the East and Northeast Asian genomes examined, likely representing some of the earliest-wave migrants who went north from Southeast Asia to East Asia. Furthermore, IK002 shows strong genetic affinity with the indigenous Taiwan aborigines, which may support a coastal route of the Jomon-ancestry migration. This study highlights the power of ancient genomics to provide new insights into the complex history of human migration into East Eurasia.