The impact of agricultural emergence on the genetic history of African rainforest hunter-gatherers and agriculturalists

Etienne Patin (), Katherine J. Siddle, Guillaume Laval, Hélène Quach, Christine Harmant, Noémie Becker, Alain Froment, Béatrice Régnault, Laure Lemée, Simon Gravel, Jean-Marie Hombert, Lolke Van der Veen, Nathaniel J. Dominy, George H. Perry, Luis B. Barreiro, Paul Verdu, Evelyne Heyer and Lluís Quintana-Murci ()
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Etienne Patin: Unit of Human Evolutionary Genetics, Institut Pasteur
Katherine J. Siddle: Unit of Human Evolutionary Genetics, Institut Pasteur
Guillaume Laval: Unit of Human Evolutionary Genetics, Institut Pasteur
Hélène Quach: Unit of Human Evolutionary Genetics, Institut Pasteur
Christine Harmant: Unit of Human Evolutionary Genetics, Institut Pasteur
Noémie Becker: CNRS, MNHN, Université Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, UMR7206
Alain Froment: IRD, MNHN, CNRS UMR 208
Béatrice Régnault: Genotyping Platform, Institut Pasteur
Laure Lemée: Genotyping Platform, Institut Pasteur
Simon Gravel: McGill University, Montreal
Jean-Marie Hombert: Dynamique du Langage, CNRS UMR 5596, Université Lumière-Lyon 2
Lolke Van der Veen: Dynamique du Langage, CNRS UMR 5596, Université Lumière-Lyon 2
Nathaniel J. Dominy: Dartmouth College
George H. Perry: Pennsylvania State University
Luis B. Barreiro: Centre de Recherche CHU Sainte-Justine, Université de Montréal
Paul Verdu: CNRS, MNHN, Université Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, UMR7206
Evelyne Heyer: CNRS, MNHN, Université Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, UMR7206
Lluís Quintana-Murci: Unit of Human Evolutionary Genetics, Institut Pasteur

Nature Communications, 2014, vol. 5, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract The emergence of agriculture in West-Central Africa approximately 5,000 years ago, profoundly modified the cultural landscape and mode of subsistence of most sub-Saharan populations. How this major innovation has had an impact on the genetic history of rainforest hunter-gatherers—historically referred to as ‘pygmies’—and agriculturalists, however, remains poorly understood. Here we report genome-wide SNP data from these populations located west-to-east of the equatorial rainforest. We find that hunter-gathering populations present up to 50% of farmer genomic ancestry, and that substantial admixture began only within the last 1,000 years. Furthermore, we show that the historical population sizes characterizing these communities already differed before the introduction of agriculture. Our results suggest that the first socio-economic interactions between rainforest hunter-gatherers and farmers introduced by the spread of farming were not accompanied by immediate, extensive genetic exchanges and occurred on a backdrop of two groups already differentiated by their specialization in two ecotopes with differing carrying capacities.

Date: 2014
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms4163

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