Polymorphic Alu insertions among Mayan populations

The Mayan homeland within Mesoamerica spans five countries: Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico. There are indications that the people we call the Maya migrated from the north to the highlands of Guatemala as early as 4000 B.C. Their existence was village-based and agricultural. The culture of these Preclassic Mayans owes much to the earlier Olmec civilization, which flourished in the southern portion of North America. In this study, four different Mayan groups were examined to assess their genetic variability. Ten polymorphic Alu insertion (PAI) loci were employed to ascertain the genetic affinities among these Mayan groups. North American, African, European and Asian populations were also examined as reference populations. Our results suggest that the Mayan groups examined in this study are not genetically homogeneous.