Gm haplotype distribution in Amerindians: Relationship with geography and language

Abstract

A review is made of the Gm haplotype distribution in 60 groups of Eskimos, North, Central and South American Indians, totaling 22,808 individuals. Differences were observed in the shapes of the distribution of Gm*ag and the other markers. Nearly identical values for F_ST and average heterozygosities were obtained in the North+Central/South comparisons. North‐South and Southwest/Northeast clinal differences were observed in the Americas using correspondence factorial analysis. The two haplotypes mainly responsible for these differences are Gm*axg and Gm*abOst. When the populations are classified by language groups, besides the recognized differences between Eskimos and Athabaskan (Na‐Dene) speakers compared with Amerinds, others are found. For instance, Uto‐Aztecan speakers of the United States and Mexico differ in Gm frequencies from the Nuclear Chibchan, Macro‐Arawak, and Carib speakers of Central and South America. The notion of a homogeneous Amerind genetic pool does not conform with these and other results.