Studies on genetic diversity of Kongu Vellalar population using mitochondrial DNA and Y-chromosome markers

Abstract

The genetic diversity of Kongu Vellalar population of Salem District Tamil Nadu was studied using mt DNA and Y-chromosomal biallelic SNP markers. In this study, 400 base pair of the HVR-1 region and selected coding regions of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), and 8 Y chromosome SNPs were analyzed in 96 Kongu Vellalar caste population of Tamil Nadu, and compared the results with the available data from the Indian subcontinent. It was observed that all the individuals of Kongu Vellalar caste population were falling in macrohaplogroup M and N. Further, subhaplogrouping of "M" revealed that Kongu Vellalar caste population was falling in haplogroup M*, M35 and M5. On the other hand at the Y chromosome haplogroup level 29% of the studied Kongu Vellalar caste population falls in Indian specific haplogroup M82-H1a. Our study concluded that there might be an admixture of this population with the surrounding Austro-Asiatic populations.