Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 4, 2026

Sexual Transmission of American Trypanosomes from Males and Females to Naive Mates
Published on: January 27, 2019
Demographic and genetic relationships among Brazilian Wapishana Indians
Abstract:
Demographic information is given and data on 25 genetic systems are reanalysed for six populations of Wapishana Indians living in northern Brazil. Despite 200 years of contact with non-Indians, the maximum amount of admixture that may be present in persons who claim 'pure' Indian ancestry is 3%. Historical sources mention considerable exchange with the Macushi, Taurepan and Atorai tribes, confirmed by our genealogies. Departures from the maximum amount of heterozygosity per locus are similar in putative 'full bloods' and admixed individuals, as well as among the first and members of other tribes. Demographically the Wapishana can be characterized as very mobile, with high fertility but moderate mortality for an agricultural group. The Index of Opportunity for Selection (0 x 57) is one of the lowest calculated so far among South American tribes. Despite the indicated high mobility, clustering of some alleles was observed in two localities.
Related Concept Videos
Genetics of Speciation
Gene Flow
Evolutionary Relationships through Genome Comparisons
Genome-wide Association Studies-GWAS
GWAS does not require the identification of the target gene involved in...
Genetic Variation
Genes exist in different versions called alleles, which...
Ethnic Identity within a Larger Culture

