Population Genetic Study in Hainan Island, China II. Genetic Affinity Analyses

Abstract

A population genetic study was carried out on six populations (two Li populations, two Miao populations, one Hui population, and one Han population) in Hainan Island, Southern China. Allele frequency data for these six populations and those for some other Asian populations were used to estimate genetic distances between populations, and genetic affinity dendrograms and networks were constructed by using UPGMA and the neighbor-joining method, respectively The two Li populations showed a close relationship, while the two Miao populations were relatively distant from each other. These six populations of Hainan Island showed a close affinity with Zhuang of Southern China, Thailanders, and Javanese, but they are distant from populations around northern China (Japanese, Mongolian, and Korean). Divergence time between the Li-Miao group and Japanese was estimated to be roughly 19, 000-26, 000 years.