Gene admixture in the Costa Rican population
artículo original
Date
2003Author
Morera Brenes, Bernal
Barrantes Mesén, Ramiro
Marín Rojas, Rafael
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The general population of Costa Rica has sometimes been considered to be the product of an amalgamation
of groups of diverse origin. To determine the magnitude of accumulated admixture since Spanish colonization,
11 classic genetic markers were analyzed in a total of 2196 individuals originating from five distinct regions of
the country. A maximum likelihood approach was used. The proportions of genes of European, Amerindian and
African ancestry were found to be 61%, 30% and 9% of the total population, respectively. Variation was observed at
a regional level, with an increased European influence in the North (66%) and Central (65%) regions. Meanwhile
an increase in Amerindian ancestry was found in the South (38%), and a higher incidence in the contribution of
African genes was detected in the coastal regions (13% in the Atlantic and 14% in the North Pacific). A principal
component (PC) analysis showed that 76% of the existing variability can be explained by the first two PCs, which is
in agreement with the variations observed in the admixture process by geographic area. It has been concluded that
the Costa Rican population is truly trihybrid, similar to populations in other Latin American countries; however,
it differs from them fundamentally by the proportion of gene flow from ancestral populations.
artículo científico -- Universidad de Costa Rica, Instituto de Investigaciones en Salud. 2003. Este documento es privado debido a limitaciones de derechos de autor.