Colombia’s racial crucible: Y chromosome evidence from six admixed communities in the Department of Bolivar

TLDR

The study aimed to quantify African, European, and Native‑American paternal contributions in Bolivar, Colombia, and to identify population substructures and the proportion of African heritage among admixed groups. Researchers typed Y‑SNPs in six Bolivar communities, including Palenque, and performed genetic differentiation analyses to assess pairwise divergences within the department and relative to other South American populations. Results revealed high Y‑haplogroup diversity, with European lineages exceeding 57% in all but Palenque, where African lineages comprised 57.7% and European 38.5%; Pinillos showed 23.8% Native American Q1a3a*-M3, and overall the data indicated a heterogeneous admixture pattern and significant genetic substructure across the department.

Abstract

Objectives: To determine the African, European and Native-American paternal contributions in genetic samples from the Department of Bolivar (Colombia) with the aims of establishing (1) possible population substructures, and (2) the proportion of biological African heritage in admixed populations of European, Amerindian, and African descent.Methods: Y-SNPs were typed in samples from six communities, including Palenque (renowned for its African linguistic and cultural heritage).Results: Findings reveal a high diversity of Y-haplogroups. With the exception of Palenque, the sum of European male lineages uniformly exceeded 57%. In Palenque, African lineages accounted for 57.7% of its chromosomes, with European male lineages constituting a mere 38.5%. In Pinillos, a significant proportion (23.8%) of the chromosomes belongs to the Native American haplogroup Q1a3a*-M3. Genetic differentiation analyses reveal significant divergences in most pairwise comparisons among the Bolivar municipalities, and the same holds between Bolivar and other South American populations.Conclusions: Heterogeneous patterns of admixture reveal a genetic substructure within the Department of Bolivar. On the paternal side, five out of the six communities studied exhibit a predominantly European gene pool. The exception is Palenque, where European input (38%) is more significant than we had expected.