File:Admixture analysis of Nepalese and Sherpa.png

English: Fine scale admixture analysis of the Nepalese and Sherpa. Admixture results for k = 6 were plotted for the best fit of the data. The x-axis labels each ethnic group or village (see Additional file 2: Table S2 for IDs). The labels above the plot indicate the main population groups; The Indian ancestral groups are defined as in Basu et al., 2016, ANI (ancestral north India), ASI (ancestral south India), AAA (ancestral Austro-Asiatic), ATB (ancestral Tibeto-Burman). The red component reflects the ‘ancestral high altitude component’ previously reported by Jeong, Alkorta-Aranburu (14). Our Nepalese cohort shows similar ancestral components to Indians of Tibeto-Burman ancestry (17). (36,330 SNPs).

The authors observed two ancestral components (red and cyan components in the figure) specific to individuals from Tibet and Nepal, including the Sherpa. One of these components is enriched in the Sherpa (red) and found to be at higher proportions in Tibetans from Lhasa and the Tuo Tuo River. The second is enriched in Tibetans, but is also present in the Nepalese and Sherpa (cyan). The authors believe these two components broadly reflect the ‘ancestral high altitude component’ previously reported by C Jeong et al.. The authors also note the Sherpa from Thame as being enriched for the red component, while the Sherpa from the remaining Nepalese villages show admixture of the two ancestral components specific to highlanders.