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Fine-Scale Genetic Structure in the United Arab Emirates Reflects Endogamous and Consanguineous Culture, Population History, and Geography

Elliott, Katherine S; Haber, Marc; Daggag, Hinda; Busby, George B; Sarwar, Rizwan; Kennet, Derek; Petraglia, Michael; Petherbridge, Lawrence J; Yavari, Parisa; Heard-Bey, Frauke U; Shobi, Bindu; Ghulam, Tariq; Haj, Dalia; Al Tikriti, Alia; Mohammad, Alshafi; Antony, Suma; Alyileili, Maitha; Alaydaroos, Shatha; Lau, Evelyn; Butler, Mark; Yavari, Arash; Knight, Julian C; Ashrafian, Houman; Barakat, Maha T

Fine-Scale Genetic Structure in the United Arab Emirates Reflects Endogamous and Consanguineous Culture, Population History, and Geography Thumbnail


Authors

Katherine S Elliott

Marc Haber

Hinda Daggag

George B Busby

Rizwan Sarwar

Michael Petraglia

Lawrence J Petherbridge

Parisa Yavari

Frauke U Heard-Bey

Bindu Shobi

Tariq Ghulam

Dalia Haj

Alia Al Tikriti

Alshafi Mohammad

Suma Antony

Maitha Alyileili

Shatha Alaydaroos

Evelyn Lau

Mark Butler

Arash Yavari

Julian C Knight

Houman Ashrafian

Maha T Barakat



Abstract

The indigenous population of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has a unique demographic and cultural history. Its tradition of endogamy and consanguinity is expected to produce genetic homogeneity and partitioning of gene pools while population movements and intercontinental trade are likely to have contributed to genetic diversity. Emiratis and neighboring populations of the Middle East have been underrepresented in the population genetics literature with few studies covering the broader genetic history of the Arabian Peninsula. Here, we genotyped 1,198 individuals from the seven Emirates using 1.7 million markers and by employing haplotype-based algorithms and admixture analyses, we reveal the fine-scale genetic structure of the Emirati population. Shared ancestry and gene flow with neighboring populations display their unique geographic position while increased intra- versus inter-Emirati kinship and sharing of uniparental haplogroups, reflect the endogamous and consanguineous cultural traditions of the Emirates and their tribes.

Citation

Elliott, K. S., Haber, M., Daggag, H., Busby, G. B., Sarwar, R., Kennet, D., …Barakat, M. T. (2022). Fine-Scale Genetic Structure in the United Arab Emirates Reflects Endogamous and Consanguineous Culture, Population History, and Geography. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 39(3), https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msac039

Journal Article Type Article
Online Publication Date Feb 22, 2022
Publication Date 2022
Deposit Date May 24, 2022
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Molecular Biology and Evolution
Print ISSN 0737-4038
Electronic ISSN 1537-1719
Publisher Oxford University Press
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 39
Issue 3
DOI https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msac039

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Publisher Licence URL
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Copyright Statement
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact journals.permissions@oup.com





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