Genetic affinity between the Kam‐<scp>S</scp>ui speaking Chadong and Mulam people

Abstract

Abstract The origins of Kam‐Sui speaking Chadong and Mulam people have been controversial subjects in ethnic history studies and other related fields. Here, we studied Y chromosome (40 informative single nucleotide polymorphisms and 17 short tandem repeats in a non‐recombining region) and mtDNA (hypervariable segment I and coding region single nucleotide polymorphisms) diversities in 50 Chadong and 93 Mulam individuals. The Y chromosome and mtDNA haplogroup components and network analyses indicated that both Chadong and Mulam originated from the admixture between surrounding populations and the indigenous Kam‐Sui populations. The newly found Chadong is more closely related to Mulam than to Maonan, especially in the maternal lineages.