Major Histocompatibility Complex

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The polymorphisms in the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) region are powerful tool for studying human evolutionary processes such as migration, admixture, natural selection and genetic adaptation. The origin of modern Japanese has long been debated. It is thought that there are at least two waves of migrations to the Japanese Archipelago. The ancestors of the Jomon people migrated to the Japanese Archipelago in the Upper Paleolithic age (approximately 30,000 years ago). The new migrants, the Yayoi people, came through the Korean Peninsula in the Aeneolithic period (1,000 BC to 300 AD). The prevailing model for peopling of Japan is the admixture model or “dual structure model” in which modern Japanese was formed by admixture between the Jomon and Yayoi people. We briefly review findings that support the admixture model for peopling of Japanese Archipelago, and introduce recent studies for exploring genetic footprints of the migration route of prehistoric ancient populations.

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