The Genomic Impact of European Colonization of the Americas

• Published in: Current biology Vol. 29; no. 23; pp. 3974 - 3986.e4
• Main Authors: Ongaro, Linda, Scliar, Marilia O., Flores, Rodrigo, Raveane, Alessandro, Marnetto, Davide, Sarno, Stefania, Gnecchi-Ruscone, Guido A., Alarcón-Riquelme, Marta E., Patin, Etienne, Wangkumhang, Pongsakorn, Hellenthal, Garrett, Gonzalez-Santos, Miguel, King, Roy J., Kouvatsi, Anastasia, Balanovsky, Oleg, Balanovska, Elena, Atramentova, Lubov, Turdikulova, Shahlo, Mastana, Sarabjit, Marjanovic, Damir, Mulahasanovic, Lejla, Leskovac, Andreja, Lima-Costa, Maria F., Pereira, Alexandre C., Barreto, Mauricio L., Horta, Bernardo L., Mabunda, Nédio, May, Celia A., Moreno-Estrada, Andrés, Achilli, Alessandro, Olivieri, Anna, Semino, Ornella, Tambets, Kristiina, Kivisild, Toomas, Luiselli, Donata, Torroni, Antonio, Capelli, Cristian, Tarazona-Santos, Eduardo, Metspalu, Mait, Pagani, Luca, Montinaro, Francesco
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 02.12.2019; Elsevier
• Subjects: admixture history of the Americas; Atlantic Slave Trade; Caribbean Region; Central America; European colonization; Gene Flow; Genetics; Genome, Human; Human genetics; Humans; Life Sciences; North America; Populations and Evolution; sex-biased admixture; South America; sex-biased admixture; admixture history of the Americas; Atlantic Slave Trade; European colonization
• ISSN: 0960-9822; 1879-0445
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.09.076

The human genetic diversity of the Americas has been affected by several events of gene flow that have continued since the colonial era and the Atlantic slave trade. Moreover, multiple waves of migration followed by local admixture occurred in the last two centuries, the impact of which has been largely unexplored. Here, we compiled a genome-wide dataset of ∼12,000 individuals from twelve American countries and ∼6,000 individuals from worldwide populations and applied haplotype-based methods to investigate how historical movements from outside the New World affected (1) the genetic structure, (2) the admixture profile, (3) the demographic history, and (4) sex-biased gene-flow dynamics of the Americas. We revealed a high degree of complexity underlying the genetic contribution of European and African populations in North and South America, from both geographic and temporal perspectives, identifying previously unreported sources related to Italy, the Middle East, and to specific regions of Africa. •European and African genomic signature in the Americas shows high complexity•Sex-biased gene flow occurred between European and American mixing groups•Admixture is geographically and chronologically correlated with historical records•Source-specific demographic histories reveal the huge impact of recent admixture The complexity of the admixture dynamics that shaped American populations is unveiled by Ongaro et al., where genetic data for more than 12,000 individuals from the continents are investigated. This study evaluates the dramatic impact of events after the colonial era, revealing a spatial and temporal heterogeneity and mirroring historical records.