CCMB scientists unravel genetic history of Ladakh population

Hyderabad: Hyderabad-based Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) and Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeo Sciences (BSIP), Lucknow, have unravelled the genetic history of the Ladakhi population.

The study by Dr Kumarasamy Thangaraj, JC Bose Fellow, CCMB, and Dr Niraj Rai, senior scientist, BSIP, involved DNA analysis of 108 individuals from three major communities, including Brokpa, Changpa, and Monpa of Ladakh. They compared the DNA sequence of Ladakh populations with modern and ancient DNA sequences from South Asia, East Asia, Tibet, and West Eurasia and corroborated their findings with archaeological and historical records. The study helped fill the gap in the history of demographic changes and population transformations in the Ladakh region since the Bronze Age (3,000 years ago) and how they relate to contemporary Eurasians. This finding has been published recently in the journal Mitochondrion.

Dr Vinay K Nandicoori, Director, CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, explained that this study further confirms and supports the movement of people through the Trans Himalayan corridor and the Silk Route.