Polynesian origins: Insights from the Y chromosome

• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.97.15.8225
• Publication Date: 2002-07-26T14:41:48Z
• Authors: Bing Su; Li Jin; Peter Underhill; Jeremy Martinson; Nilmani Saha; Stephen T. McGarvey; Mark D. Shriver; Jiayou Chu; Peter Oefner; Ranajit Chakraborty; Ranjan Deka
• Keywords: Genetic Markers; Male; 0303 health sciences; 03 medical and health sciences; Haplotypes; Y Chromosome; Humans; Emigration and Immigration; Biological Evolution; Polynesia

The question surrounding the colonization of Polynesia has remained controversial. Two hypotheses, one postulating Taiwan as the putative homeland and the other asserting a Melanesian origin of the Polynesian people, have received considerable attention. In this work, we present haplotype data based on the distribution of 19 biallelic polymorphisms on the Y chromosome in a sample of 551 male individuals from 36 populations living in Southeast Asia, Taiwan, Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia. Surprisingly, nearly none of the Taiwanese Y haplotypes were found in Micronesia and Polynesia. Likewise, a Melanesian-specific haplotype was not found among the Polynesians. However, all of the Polynesian, Micronesian, and Taiwanese haplotypes are present in the extant Southeast Asian populations. Evidently, the Y-chromosome data do not lend support to either of the prevailing hypotheses. Rather, we postulate that Southeast Asia provided a genetic source for two independent migrations, one toward Taiwan and the other toward Polynesia through island Southeast Asia.