Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 4, 2026

Heuristic Mining of Hierarchical Genotypes and Accessory Genome Loci in Bacterial Populations
Published on: December 7, 2021
The Soliga, an isolated tribe from Southern India: genetic diversity and phylogenetic affinities
Diana M Morlote1, Tenzin Gayden, Prathima Arvind
1Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, College of Medicine, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, USA.
Abstract:
India's role in the dispersal of modern humans can be explored by investigating its oldest inhabitants: the tribal people. The Soliga people of the Biligiri Rangana Hills, a tribal community in Southern India, could be among the country's first settlers. This forest-bound, Dravidian speaking group, lives isolated, practicing subsistence-level agriculture under primitive conditions. The aim of this study is to examine the phylogenetic relationships of the Soligas in relation to 29 worldwide, geographically targeted, reference populations. For this purpose, we employed a battery of 15 hypervariable autosomal short tandem repeat loci as markers. The Soliga tribe was found to be remarkably different from other Indian populations including other southern Dravidian-speaking tribes. In contrast, the Soliga people exhibited genetic affinity to two Australian aboriginal populations. This genetic similarity could be attributed to the 'Out of Africa' migratory wave(s) along the southern coast of India that eventually reached Australia. Alternatively, the observed genetic affinity may be explained by more recent migrations from the Indian subcontinent into Australia.
Related Concept Videos
Evolutionary Relationships through Genome Comparisons
Genetics of Speciation
Diversity of Archaea IV
Diversity of Archaea III
Diversity of Archaea II
Diversity of Archaea I
