Sri Lanka’s Vedda popn shares genetic link with ethnic Indians

In a landmark study published recently in the journal Mitochondrion, 10 researchers from five institutions -- including Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi; University of Colombo, Sri Lanka; CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad; University of Bern, Switzerland; and Postgraduate Institute of Archaeology, University of Kelaniya, Colombo -- unveiled significant findings regarding the genetic history of the Vedda population, an indigenous group of Sri Lanka.

The study, which involved a comprehensive analysis of high-resolution autosomal and mitochondrial genomes, sheds new light on the initial peopling of Sri Lanka and the ancient genetic ties between the Vedda and other populations in Asia. The key findings from the research indicate that despite the lack of close linguistic similarities, the Vedda people share a significant genetic link with the ethnic populations in India.

“Our autosomal analyses suggest a close genetic connection between the Vedda and Indian ethnic populations speaking various tongues, pointing towards a deep-rooted history that predates linguistic diversifications,” said Prof Gyaneshwer Chaubey, one of the authors of the study and a molecular anthropologist at BHU.

Dr K Thangaraj, one of the senior authors of the study and a JC Bose Fellow at CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, said that the language isolates Vedda, who are among the least studied indigenous populations in Sri Lanka, have long intrigued scientists and historians alike due to their unique linguistic and cultural characteristics. This study, therefore, unravels the mysteries of their genetic origins and affinities with Indian populations.

The lead author, Dr Ruwandi Ranasingh from Colombo University, Sri Lanka, said that maternal DNA analysis supports the existence of an ancient link, reinforcing the notion of a shared genetic heritage.

The study proposes that the Vedda population has undergone genetic drift and a recent bottleneck, resulting in a unique genetic makeup with limited gene flow from neighboring Sinhalese and Sri Lankan Tamil populations.

According to the first author, Anjana Welikala from the Institute of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biotechnology, University of Colombo, this unique discovery challenges the conventional isolation-by-distance model and underscores the distinct demographic history of the Vedda.

The implications of this research are vast, offering novel perspectives on the demographic history of not only Sri Lanka but also the broader South Asian region.

This study underscores the complex mosaic of human migration and genetic diversity in South Asia, revealing how Veddas have preserved their genetic identity over millennia despite massive cultural and linguistic changes around them.

These valuable insights will contribute to a better understanding of the genetic diversity in South Asia and foster a deeper appreciation for the unique cultural and genetic heritage of the Vedda people, said the researchers.

Source: Times of India
--Agencies