New research sheds light on genetic heritage of the Nicobarese

An aerial view of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The 25,000-strong Nicobarese population appears to have a significant ancestral connection with Austroasiatic populations across South and Southeast Asia and, they could have settled in the region only about 5,000 years ago, according to a new genetic research by scientists from CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) and others.

The study highlighted the common genetic affinity of the ‘Htin Mal’, a population in the mainland of Southeast Asia, who speak an Austroasiatic language, with the Nicobarese. The ‘Htin Mal’ community has maintained remarkable ethnic distinctness over time, exhibiting a pronounced genetic drift from the Nicobarese, said CCMB’s top scientist Kumarasamy Thangaraj in an official release.

Gyaneshwer Chaubey from Banaras Hindu University (BHU) led the group of researchers from nine institutions for a detailed genetic analysis, using DNA markers inherited exclusively from mothers and fathers respectively, and those from both the parents from among the Nicobarese people. This is to explore their ancestry and genetic affinities with the South and Southeast Asian populations.

Nicobar Islands are situated in the eastern Indian Ocean and south of the Andaman Islands. The archipelago consists of seven large islands, including Car Nicobar and Great Nicobar, and numerous smaller ones. “Previous theories suggested that the linguistic ancestors of the Nicobarese settled in the Nicobar archipelago during the early Holocene, about 11,700 years ago. Our new genetic research involved 1,559 individuals from South and Southeast Asia showed it to be only about 5,000 years,” pointed out Dr. Thangaraj.

“Genomic regions shared across linguistic groups suggests an ancient distribution of Austroasiatic populations in Southeast Asia,” said Prof. Chaubey, the lead author. “Our findings argue that the Nicobarese and the ‘Htin Mal’ represent valuable genetic proxies for understanding ancient Austroasiatic heritage,” he added.

“This research opens up new avenues for understanding the rich tapestry of genetic diversity in Southeast Asia and highlights the importance of preserving the cultural and genetic heritage of indigenous populations,” said CSIR-CCMB Director Vinay K. Nandicoori. The findings has been recently published in the European Journal of Human Genetics, said the release.