Modern Japanese people largely originated from three ancestral groups and carry ancient DNA that may influence their risk of developing certain diseases, genetic analyses suggest.
Modern Japanese people largely descend from three ancestral groups, a new study suggests. The research also reveals genetic ties with our closest extinct relatives — the Neanderthals and Denisovans — and how these genes may affect present-day disease risk.
In one of the largest non-European analyses of its kind, scientists sequenced the DNA of more than 3,200 Japanese people across seven regions of the country, extending from the snowy mountains of Hokkaido in the north to the subtropical southern shores of Okinawa.
The researchers collated these genetic data, along with relevant clinical information, into a large new database called the Japanese Encyclopedia of Whole-Genome/Exome Sequencing Library (JEWEL).