Y chromosome haplogroup distribution in different ethnic groups of Jammu and Kashmir, India

Abstract

India is a country with 4,635 different population groups [1]. Jammu and Kashmir is located on the crossroads of Eurasia, bound by China and Tibet from North-East, Afghanistan and Pakistan from North-West. Diversity in Indian population is anticipated as a result of multiple waves of migration and gene flow that occurred in the past [2]. Y chromosomal variations have been documented as markers to represent deep rooted lineage haplogroups and many of these exist among Indian populations, indicating the early habitation of humans in the Indian subcontinent [3]. To find out the distribution of Y chromosome haplogroup in J&K, we genotyped 133 markers of non-recombining region of Y chromosome (NRY) in 384 males of J&K. Genotyping was done by Agena Massarray Platform. Our analysis showed distribution allocated the studied samples into thirteen major haplogroups R, H, J, P, L, K, IJK, C, F, Q, E, G and O highlighting the genetic diversity in the region.