Molecular genetic studies of natives on Easter Island: evidence of an early European and Amerindian contribution to the Polynesian gene pool

  1. B. A. Lie1,
  2. B. M. Dupuy2,
  3. A. Spurkland3,
  4. M. A. Fernández-Viña4,
  5. E. Hagelberg5,
  6. E. Thorsby1,*

Article first published online: 28 NOV 2006

DOI: 10.1111/j.1399-0039.2006.00717.x

Issue

Tissue Antigens

Tissue Antigens

Volume 69, Issue 1, pages 10–18, January 2007

Additional Information

How to Cite

Lie, B. A., Dupuy, B. M., Spurkland, A., Fernández-Viña, M. A., Hagelberg, E. and Thorsby, E. (2007), Molecular genetic studies of natives on Easter Island: evidence of an early European and Amerindian contribution to the Polynesian gene pool. Tissue Antigens, 69: 10–18. doi: 10.1111/j.1399-0039.2006.00717.x

Author Information

  1. 1

    Institute of Immunology, Rikshospitalet-Radiumhospitalet Medical Center, Oslo, Norway

  2. 2

    Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

  3. 3

    Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Department of Anatomy, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

  4. 4

    Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA

  5. 5

    Department of Biology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.

*Erik Thorsby, MD Institute of Immunology Rikshospitalet-Radiumhospitalet Medical Center N-0027 Oslo Norway Tel: 47 23 07 35 00 Fax: 47 23 07 35 10 e-mail: erik.thorsby@medisin.uio.no

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 6 DEC 2006
  2. Article first published online: 28 NOV 2006
  3. Received 23 August 2006; revised 4 October 2006; accepted 5 October 2006

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Keywords:

  • Amerindian;
  • Easter Island;
  • European;
  • HLA alleles;
  • mitochondrial DNA, Polynesian;
  • Y chromosomes

Abstract

Most archaeological and linguistic evidence suggest a Polynesian origin of the population of Easter Island (Rapanui), and this view has been supported by the identification of Polynesian mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) polymorphisms in prehistoric skeletal remains. However, some evidence of an early South American contact also exists (the sweet potato, bottle gourd etc.), but genetic studies have so far failed to show an early Amerindian contribution to the gene pool on Easter Island. To address this issue, we analyzed mtDNA and Y chromosome markers and performed high-resolution human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genotyping of DNA harvested from previously collected sera of 48 reputedly nonadmixed native Easter Islanders. All individuals carried mtDNA types and HLA alleles previously found in Polynesia, and most men carried Y chromosome markers of Polynesian origin, providing further evidence of a Polynesian origin of the population of Easter Island. A few individuals carried HLA alleles and/or Y chromosome markers of European origin. More interestingly, some individuals carried the HLA alleles A*0212 and B*3905, which are of typical Amerindian origin. The genealogy of some of the individuals carrying these non-Polynesian HLA alleles and their haplotypic backgrounds suggest an introduction into Easter Island in the early 1800s, or earlier. Thus, there may have been an early European and Amerindian contribution to the Polynesian gene pool of Easter Island.

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