2016/12/07 by Hongbing Yao, Chuan‐Chao Wang, Xiaolan Tao +6 · 3 citations
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #Forensic and Genetic Research #Genetic diversity and population structure #China #Middle East #East Asia #Biology #Gene flow #Evolutionary biology #Genetics #Demography #Genetic variation #Geography #Gene #Sociology
paper · pdf · doi:10.1038/srep38656
openalex publication_date 2016/12/07 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04
There is a long-going debate on the genetic origin of Chinese Muslim populations, such as Uygur, Dongxiang, and Hui. However, genetic information for those Muslim populations except Uygur is extremely limited. In this study, we investigated the genetic structure and ancestry of Chinese Muslims by analyzing 15 autosomal short tandem repeats in 652 individuals from Dongxiang, Hui, and Han Chinese populations in Gansu province. Both genetic distance and Bayesian-clustering methods showed significant genetic homogeneity between the two Muslim populations and East Asian populations, suggesting a common genetic ancestry. Our analysis found no evidence of substantial gene flow from Middle East or Europe into Dongxiang and Hui people during their Islamization. The dataset generated in present study are also valuable for forensic identification and paternity tests in China.