Genetic structure and admixture of the Yi and Qiang in southwestern China

Jun LIU; Li JIANG; Yongqiang KONG; Chunnian WANG; Shuo FENG; Xuanzhu CHEN; Deqin ZHANG; Chuanchao WANG; Caixia LI

doi:10.1631/jzus.B2400576

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Research Article | Updated：2026-04-23

Genetic structure and admixture of the Yi and Qiang in southwestern China
Genetic structure and admixture of the Yi and Qiang in southwestern China
中国西南地区彝族和羌族遗传结构研究
Journal of Zhejiang University-SCIENCE B Vol. 27, Issue 4, Pages: 402-415(2026)
Affiliations：

1.School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong 030600, China
2.Key Laboratory of Forensic Genetics, Beijing Engineering Research Center of Crime Scene Evidence Examination, National Engineering Laboratory for Forensic Science, Institute of Forensic Science, Beijing 100038, China
3.Jiangsu International Joint Research Center of Genomics, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Phylogenomics and Comparative Genomics, School of Life Science, Jiangsu Normal University, Xuzhou 221116, China
4.School of Computer Science, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710119, China
5.Institute of Forensic Medicine, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang 550004, China
6.Department of Anthropology and Ethnology, Institute of Anthropology, Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Philosophy and Social Sciences in Bioanthropology, School of Sociology and Anthropology, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China
7.State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China
8.Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Contemporary Anthropology, Department of Anthropology and Human Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
Funds：
DOI：10.1631/jzus.B2400576
CLC：
CSTR：
Received：18 November 2024，

Revised：2025-04-09，

Online First：28 March 2026，

Published：23 April 2026
Accepted：

刘俊,江丽,孔永强等.中国西南地区彝族和羌族遗传结构研究[J].浙江大学学报（英文版）（B辑：生物医学和生物技术）,2026,27(04):402-415.

Jun LIU, Li JIANG, Yongqiang KONG, et al. Genetic structure and admixture of the Yi and Qiang in southwestern China[J]. Journal of Zhejiang University-SCIENCE B, 2026, 27(4): 402-415.
刘俊,江丽,孔永强等.中国西南地区彝族和羌族遗传结构研究[J].浙江大学学报（英文版）（B辑：生物医学和生物技术）,2026,27(04):402-415. DOI： 10.1631/jzus.B2400576.

Jun LIU, Li JIANG, Yongqiang KONG, et al. Genetic structure and admixture of the Yi and Qiang in southwestern China[J]. Journal of Zhejiang University-SCIENCE B, 2026, 27(4): 402-415. DOI： 10.1631/jzus.B2400576.

摘要

中国西南地区的藏彝走廊对于汉藏语系人群的起源、迁徙和演化至关重要。既往遗传研究的对象主要集中在汉族和藏族人群中，而对藏缅语族群体的研究不足。为探究中国西南藏缅人群的遗传结构与混合历史，本研究对四川省100名羌族和彝族个体进行了全基因组测序。研究发现，上述人群与地理上相近的藏缅语土家族和藏族人群具有最密切的遗传亲缘关系。羌族与北部阿尔泰语系人群共享更多的等位基因位点，而彝族与南部苗瑶语系人群有更密切的遗传关系。彝族和羌族的主要祖先来自黄河流域新石器时代小米农业者，少部分来自新石器时代中国南方沿海地区人群，这支持了汉藏人群北方起源假说；彝族比羌族有更多的南方遗传成分，反映出东南沿海人群对这些群体的不同遗传影响。综上所述，本研究阐明了藏缅语族人群的精细遗传结构及其与其他中国人群的遗传关系，为东亚人群的法医遗传学研究奠定了基础。

Abstract

The Tibetan-Yi Corridor in southwestern China is well-known for the origins

migration

and evolution of Sino-Tibetan populations. Previous genetic studies have primarily focused on Han and Tibetan populations

thereby leaving the significant genetic diversity within the Tibeto-Burman groups under-researched. In this study

to explore the genetic structure and admixture history of Tibeto-Burman populations in southwestern China

we sequenced the human genomes of 100 individuals from the Qiang and Yi ethnic groups in Sichuan Province. These populations were found to have the closest genetic affinity with nearby Tibeto-Burman-speaking Tujia and Tibetan populations. The Qiang share more allele sites with northern Altaic-speaking populations

while the Yi have closer genetic relationships with southern Hmong-Mien populations. The dominant ancestry of the Yi and Qiang derived from Neolithic millet agriculturalists in the Yellow River Basin

with a smaller proportion from Neolithic coastal populations in southern China

supporting the hypothesis of a northern origin of Sino-Tibetan populations. The Yi have more southern genetic components than the Qiang

reflecting the differential genetic influences of southeastern coastal populations on these groups. In summary

this study elucidates the fine-scale genetic structure of Tibeto-Burman populations and their genetic relationships with other Chinese populations

laying the foundation for forensic genetic research in East Asian populations.

关键词

Keywords

references

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