The genetic ancestry of African Americans, Latinos, and European Americans across the United States.

Am J Hum Genet
Authors
Keywords
Abstract

Over the past 500 years, North America has been the site of ongoing mixing of Native Americans, European settlers, and Africans (brought largely by the trans-Atlantic slave trade), shaping the early history of what became the United States. We studied the genetic ancestry of 5,269 self-described African Americans, 8,663 Latinos, and 148,789 European Americans who are 23andMe customers and show that the legacy of these historical interactions is visible in the genetic ancestry of present-day Americans. We document pervasive mixed ancestry and asymmetrical male and female ancestry contributions in all groups studied. We show that regional ancestry differences reflect historical events, such as early Spanish colonization, waves of immigration from many regions of Europe, and forced relocation of Native Americans within the US. This study sheds light on the fine-scale differences in ancestry within and across the United States and informs our understanding of the relationship between racial and ethnic identities and genetic ancestry.

Year of Publication
2015
Journal
Am J Hum Genet
Volume
96
Issue
1
Pages
37-53
Date Published
2015 Jan 08
ISSN
1537-6605
URL
DOI
10.1016/j.ajhg.2014.11.010
PubMed ID
25529636
PubMed Central ID
PMC4289685
Links
Grant list
R01 GM100233 / GM / NIGMS NIH HHS / United States
GM100233 / GM / NIGMS NIH HHS / United States
Howard Hughes Medical Institute / United States
2R44HG006981-02 / HG / NHGRI NIH HHS / United States
R44 HG006981 / HG / NHGRI NIH HHS / United States