Multiple ancestral components and complex origins of the Yugur people in Gansu province revealing by 35 Y-STR

The Yugur people represent one of the ethnic groups residing within the Hexi Corridor, distinguishable by their small population size, linguistic diversity, intricate ancestral components, serving as a quintessential exemplar of the populations inhabiting this corridor. There are still many controversial issues in the academic community regarding the origin, migration, and formation process of the Yugur. In this study, we explored the formation process of the Yugur from the perspective of molecular anthropology, based on the paternal genetic characteristics of the Yugur people. And the study will synthesize multiple disciplines, encompassing ethnology, history and linguistics, in order to offer a thorough analysis. Within this research endeavor, a high-resolution kit comprising 35 Y-STRs was employed to examine 237 male specimens from the Yugur people in Gansu province. Y-SNP haplogroups were deduced through the utilization of Y-STR data. The paternal genetic data from diverse populations documented in published literature were merged to construct a 16 Y-STR dataset, a 25 Y-STR dataset, and a dataset detailing haplogroup frequencies. In this study, we employed haplotype network analysis, principal component analysis, multidimensional scaling analysis, phylogenetic tree construction, and genetic distance calculations to delve into the genetic structure, haplotype distribution, and genetic relationship with neighboring populations of the Yugur people. The findings of this study reveal that the Yugur people are a blend of ancestral lineages from both Eastern and Western Eurasian origins, with approximately 13% of their genetic component traced back to Western Eurasian populations. The Yugur people in Gansu province exhibits a more intimate genetic relationship with the Han, Tibetan, and Mongolian populations inhabiting nearby regions, while showing distinct genetic differences with Turkic-speaking groups like the Uyghur. Based on the merged data, we identified Q1b1a3-L330 and R1a1a-M17 shared with Turkic-speaking people, C2a1a1-F1756, C2a1a3-M504, C2a1a3a-F3796, C2a1a2-M48 and C2b1a1a1a-M407 shared with Mongolic-speaking people, D1a1a-M15 and D1a1b1-P47 shared with Tibetans, and multiple paternal lineages shared with Han people, which are the main paternal lineages of Yugur people, indicating multiple ancestral components and complex origins of Yugur. In this study, we provided a clearer genetic landscape which further supports the formation process and population characteristics of the Yugur people recorded in history, ethnology, and linguistics, and lays the foundation for more detailed studies on population genetics and forensic genetics in the future.