Multiple migrations from East Asia led to linguistic transformation in NorthEast India and mainland Southeast Asia

Phylogeography and genetic structure of domestic pigs in Uttarakhand and Jharkhand: a mitochondrial DNA perspective

We aimed to explore the distribution and variation of porcine mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) lineages in northern India, expanding on previous local-scale research by incorporating a broader, global context. A total of 82 domestic pigs samples from Uttarakhand and Jharkhand were sequenced for the mtDNA control region (417 bp) and compared to 1517 published sequences of Sus scrofa from various regions worldwide. The Uttarakhand sequences, previously analyzed in a local context by our research group, were incorporated into this study for a broader global comparative analysis. The analysis revealed complex clustering patterns of 18 haplotypes with distinct phylogeographic signals, reflecting diverse maternal lineages within the domestic pig populations in these two states of India. Two distinct subspecies of wild boar (W1 and W2) were identified, providing strong phylogeographic evidence for their distribution in India. A novel cluster (MC-I), localized to the Chotanagpur plateau, was detected, offering insights into its connection with the D5 cluster. Significantly, the study found evidence for a separate domestication center in the Himalayan foothills, supported by the presence of most Uttarakhand samples in Cluster D3, linking it to ancient human migration and subsequent pig dispersal across the region. The diverse maternal lineages in Uttarakhand may be linked to ancient human migration, suggesting human-mediated dispersal of pigs in the region. These findings contribute to the understanding of Sus scrofa's evolutionary history and global migration patterns, emphasizing the genetic uniqueness of pigs in the Indian subcontinent and its significance in the broader context of porcine genetic resources.

Investigating linguistic and genetic shifts in East Indian tribal groups

South Asia is home to almost a quarter of the world's total population and is home to significant ethnolinguistic diversity. Previous studies of linguistic and genetic affiliations of Indian populations suggest that the formation of these distinct groups was a protracted and complex phenomenon involving multiple waves of migration, cultural assimilation, and genetic admixture. The evolutionary processes of migration, mixing and merging of populations thus impact the culture and linguistic diversity of different groups, some of which may retain their linguistic affinities despite genetic admixture with other groups, or vice versa. Our study examines the relationship of genetic and linguistic affinities between Austroasiatic and Indo-European speakers in adjacent geographical regions of Eastern India. We analyzed 224 mitogenomes and 0.65 million SNP genotypes from 40 unrelated individuals belonging to the Bathudi, Bhumij, Ho, and Mahali ethnic groups from the Eastern Indian state of Odisha. These four groups are speakers of Austroasiatic languages who have adopted elements from Indo-European languages spoken in neighbouring regions. Our results suggest that these groups have the greatest maternal genetic affinity with other Austroasiatic-speaking groups in India. Allele frequency-based analyses, genome-wide SNPs, haplotype-based methods and IBD sharing further support the genetic similarity of these East Indian groups to Austroasiatic speakers of South Asia rather than regional populations speaking Indo-European and Dravidian languages. Our study shows that these populations experienced linguistic mixing, likely due to industrialization and modernization that brought them into close cultural contact with neighbouring Indo-European-speaking groups. However, linguistic change in these groups is not reflected in genetic mixing in these populations, as they appear to maintain strict genetic boundaries while simultaneously experiencing cultural mixing.

A Glimpse into the Epidemiology of Geriatric Cancers in India: Report from the Indian Population Based Cancer Registries

INTRODUCTION

Indian population is aging and the cancer rates are rising.  Older adults (OAs)(≥60 years) with cancer require specialized care.  However, data on geriatric cancer epidemiology is scarce.

METHODS

The study compiled the geriatric cancer data from the published reports(2012-2014) of Indian population-based cancer registries(PBCRs).

RESULTS

Of the 1,61,363 cancers registered in the Indian PBCRs, 72,446(44.9%) occur in OAs, with  21,805(30.1%), 18,349(25.3%), 14,645(20.2%), and 17,647(24.4%) occurring in 60-64, 65-69, 70-74, and ≥75year age groups.  The truncated incidence rates for OAs are 555.9,404.5, and 481.9 for males, females, and OA populations respectively.  The common cancers are lung, prostate, and esophagus cancers in males, breast, cervix, and lung in females.  The overall common cancers are lung, prostate, and breast.  While  >50% of the incident cases of prostate, and bladder cancers occurred in OAs, <20% of Hodgkin lymphoma and thyroid cancers occurred in OAs. OA cancer epidemiology has a regional variation, highest in South India and lowest in Western India.

CONCLUSION

The current study quantifies the cancer burden in the Indian geriatric population. Understanding the epidemiology of geriatric cancers is vital to health program planning and implementation. Increased awareness, focused resource allocation, research, and national policies for streamlining care will all help to improve geriatric cancer outcomes.

The genetic admixture and assimilation of Ahom: a historic migrant from Thailand to India

The Northeastern region of India is considered a gateway for modern humans' dispersal throughout Asia. This region is a mixture of various ethnic and indigenous populations amalgamating multiple ancestries. One reason for such amalgamation is that, South Asia experienced multiple historic migrations from various parts of the world. A few examples explored genetically are Jews, Parsis and Siddis. Ahom is a dynasty that historically migrated to India during the 12th century. However, this putative migration has not been studied genetically at high resolution. Therefore, to validate this historical evidence, we genotyped autosomal data of the Modern Ahom population residing in seven sister states of India. Principal Component and Admixture analyses haave suggested a substantial admixture of the Ahom population with the local Tibeto-Burman populations. Moreover, the haplotype-based analysis has linked these Ahom individuals mainly with the Kusunda (a language isolated from Nepal) and Khasi (an Austroasiatic population of Meghalaya). Such unexpected presence of widespread population affinities suggests that Ahom mixed and assimilated a wide variety of Trans-Himalayan populations inhabiting this region after the migration. In summary, we observed a significant deviation of Ahom from their ancestral homeland (Thailand) and extensive admixture and assimilation with the local South Asian populations.

HLA-G isoforms, HLA-C allotype and their expressions differ between early abortus and placenta in relation to spontaneous abortions

INTRODUCTION

Spontaneous abortion (SAB) affects approximately 10% of clinically recognized pregnancies. Fetal trophobalst invasion and remodeling of maternal spiral arteries is reported to be dependent on crosstalk between HLA-C/HLA-G expressed on extra villous trophoblast (EVTs)and Killer cell Immunoglobin like receptors (KIRs) of decidual NK (dNK). Immune dysfunction in decidua contributes to early miscarriage.

METHODOLOGY

The study used mother neonate paired cord blood and term placenta samples (n = 46), elective abortus (n = 17,gestational age = 10-12 weeks of pregnancy) and SAB abortus (n = 24, gestational age = 12-15 weeks of pregnancy) for HLA-G, KIR2D and HLA-C. In addition, term placenta was collected from women with history of spontaneous pregnancy loss (n = 24) and women with history of live birth (n = 32). SSP-PCR was used for genotyping, RT-PCR for gene expression, copy number variation (CNVs) and HLA-C allotyping and ELISA for protein expression studies.

RESULTS

Membrane bound HLA-G4 isoform proportion was higher 39.28%, p = 0.02) in term placenta. SAB abortus had higher proportion of HLA-G3 (50%),while elective abortus exhibited higher proportion of soluble isoforms (HLA-G5, = 5.9, HLA-G6 = 5.9%, HLA-G7 = 11.8%). Higher inhibitory KIR2DL1 content and copy numbers with lower HLA-C2 in SAB contrasted with higher copy numbers of KIR2DS1(p = 0.001), KIR2DS1+/2DL1+- HLA-C2 combined genotype in healthy placenta. Elevated KIR2D protein levels (p = 0.001), and concurrently, HLA-C levels were upregulated in healthy placenta.

CONCLUSION

Our data supports lower cognate receptor ligand KIR2DS1+/2DL1+ HLA-C2 together with predominance of HLA-G3 isoform in SAB as confounding factors in spontaneous pregnancy loss. HLA-G isoforms and expression differed between first trimester abortus and term placenta suggesting temporal modulation and marks novelty of the study.