The Arabo-Islamic migrations in Madagascar: first genetic study of the GM system in three Malagasy populations

The Antemoro are an ethnic group from the southeast coast of Madagascar who claims an Arab origin. Cultural signatures of an Arabo-Islamic influence have been found in this region. Nevertheless, their origins are very contentious. Through this study, we want to determine whether this ethnic group had a particular GM profile that differentiated it from other Malagasy populations, and whether there were detectable genetic traces of the Arabo-Islamic migration. The Gm polymorphisms of IgG immunoglobulins was analysed in a population of Antemoro (N = 85), two other Malagasy populations from northern Fihereňa (N = 82) and southern Fihereňa (N = 50) and in a Comorian population (N = 171). This last group was used to enlarge the database for genetic comparisons. Results revealed significant contributions from Africa (60%, 0.092 ≤F(ST) ≤ 0.280) and Southeast Asia (40%, 0.043 ≤ F(ST) ≤ 0.590) to the Antemoro genetic pool. No direct genetic relationships with the Middle East. These results bring new insights into the population history of Madagascar.