Tibetans are genetic mix of Sherpas and Han, US study claims
American scientists say that two ancestral gene pools - one belonging to a group that migrated 30,000 years ago and adapted to high altitudes, and another that migrated more recently from low altitudes - gave rise to Tibetans.
The genetic make-up of Tibetans is likely the result of a mix of Nepali Sherpas and Han Chinese, according to American scientists.
They say that two ancestral gene pools - one belonging to a group that migrated 30,000 years ago and adapted to high altitudes, and another that migrated more recently from low altitudes - gave rise to Tibetans.
The study led by scientists from the University of Chicago also showed that the transfer of beneficial mutations between the two groups is the key reason why Tibetans are so well adapted to life above 4,000 metres.
Anna Di Rienzo, professor of human genetics at the university and one of the authors of the study, said: "Modern Tibetans appear to descend from populations related to modern Sherpa and Han Chinese. Tibetans carry a roughly even mix of two ancestral genomes."
The research was published in Nature Communications.
A similar study three years ago also suggested the majority of the Tibetan gene pool may have diverged from Han Chinese about 3,000 years ago, but the new study provides more insights.