Melbourne: Modern Indian population has genetic mutations exclusively shared by the Australian Aborigines indicating humans reached Australia via South Asia, according to a new research by Indian scientists.
Raghavendra Rao and other researchers from the
Anthropological Survey of India carried out the research which
indicates that a group of hunter-gatherers moved from the Horn
of Africa, across the mouth of the Red Sea into Arabia and
southern Asia at least 50,000 years ago.
Members of 26 Indian "relic" tribes or communities known
to have very early roots in the region were found to have
seven DNA genomes that share traits specific to Australian
Aborigines, The Australian newspaper reported.
"Mitochondrial DNA is inherited only from the mother and
so allows us to accurately trace ancestry," Rao said.
"We found certain mutations in the DNA sequences of the
Indian tribes we sampled that are specific to Australian
Aborigines. This shared ancestry suggests that the Aborigine
population migrated to Australia via the so-called `Southern
Route`," he said.
"In this respect, populations in the Indian subcontinent
harbour DNA footprints of the earliest expansion out of
Africa. Understanding human evolution helps us to understand
the biological and cultural expressions of these people, with
far-reaching implications for human welfare," Rao added.
Bureau Report
