潮原古墓群出土人骨のミトコンドリアDNA分析 : 列島最西端集団の遺伝的特徴

概要

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Yonaguni-jima is the westernmost island in Japan. Because of the geographical position of this island, it is considered to have played an important role as a route of migration from the southern part of Asia to the Japanese archipelagos. In order to investigate the genetic structure of the ancient Yonaguni people and to assess their genetic relationship with other East Asian populations at a molecular level, we analyzed the hypervariable regions (HVR) 1 and 2 of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from 16 tooth samples excavated from the old tomb of Suubaru, located on the north coast of the island. This tomb, which belongs to the early modern to modern periods, contained 32 graves. The distribution of mtDNA haplotypes among the skeletal remains obtained from the cemetery indicated the existence of several different maternal lineages. The mtDNA sequences can be tentatively classified under specific haplogroups on the basis of mutations in the HVR1 and HVR2 regions. The frequencies of these haplogroups were compared with those of haplogroups present in Asian populations. The fact that the haplogroup M7a was found at a high frequency and that dominant haplogroups of Northeast Asian populations were found among the Suubaru people indicates that the Okinawa mainland had an enormous influence on the formation of the modern people in Sakishima Islands.