New CCMB study throws fresh light on origin of Nicobarese

It was earlier believed that linguistic ancestors of Nicobarese had settled in Nicobar archipelago during the early Holocene, about 11, 700 years ago

Hyderabad: The population genetic researchers from Hyderabad-based Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) and Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Varanasi in a recent study have thrown a new light on the genetic origins of Nicobarese people.

It was earlier believed that linguistic ancestors of Nicobarese had settled in Nicobar archipelago during the early Holocene, about 11, 700 years ago.

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However, new genetic study of the Nicobarese population taken up by CCMB and BHU researchers indicates a significant ancestral connection of Nicobarese shared with Austroasiatic populations across South and Southeast Asia. The study also suggests that the Nicobar islanders settled there about 5000 years ago.

Austroasiatic is spoken in southern parts of Asia including Vietnam and Cambodia as the main official languages and in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Burma, Laos, Thailand, and Malaysia as the first language of many minority groups that are isolated from each other by other language speakers.

Two major extant branches of the Austroasiatic language tree are Munda in eastern, northeastern, and central India and Khasi-Aslian, which stretches from the Meghalaya in the northeast of the subcontinent to the Nicobars, Malay Peninsula, and Mekong delta in southeast Asia.

The group of researchers from nine institutions co-led by Dr Kumarasamy Thangaraj from CCMB and Prof. Gyaneshwer Chaubey, BHU, Varanasi conducted a detailed genetic analysis, using DNA markers that are inherited exclusively from mothers and fathers respectively, and those from both the parents.

This helped them to explore the ancestry and genetic affinities of the Nicobarese with South and Southeast Asian populations. Findings of this pioneering study has been recently published in the European Journal of Human Genetics.

The study notably highlighted the common genetic affinity of the Htin Mal with Nicobarese. Htin Mal is a population in the mainland of Southeast Asian, who speak an Austroasiatic language. The Htin Mal community has maintained remarkable ethnic distinctness over time, exhibiting a pronounced genetic drift from the Nicobarese.

“Our new genetic research on Nicobarese, involving 1,559 individuals from South and Southeast Asia, indicates a significant ancestral connection of Nicobarese shared with Austroasiatic populations across South and Southeast Asia. Our studies also suggest that the Nicobar islanders settled there approximately only 5000 years ago,” says Dr Thangaraj

The lead author of the study, Prof. Gyaneshwer Chaubey said that the Genomic regions, shared across linguistic groups, suggest an ancient distribution of Austroasiatic populations in Southeast Asia. “Our findings compellingly argue that the Nicobarese and the Htin Mal represent valuable genetic proxies for understanding ancient Austroasiatic heritage,” he said.

Dr Vinay K. Nandicoori, Director of CSIR-CCMB, said, “This research opens up new avenues for understanding the rich tapestry of genetic diversity in Southeast Asia and highlights the importance of preserving the cultural and genetic heritage of Indigenous populations”.