Changes in immune system genes of First Nations people in coastal British Columbia may be linked to epidemics associated with the arrival of Europeans in early 19th century. A new study analyzes DNA samples from individuals in modern-day Lax Kw’alaams and Metlakatla First Nations, as well as DNA from individuals who inhabited the region as long as 6000 years ago. Results of this analysis suggest a 57% drop in population sizes around the time of European contact in the 1800s. Emergence of new infectious diseases such as smallpox, measles and tuberculosis is a likely cause for the decrease in First Nations populations. Additionally, researchers found that certain variants of an immune-related gene that benefitted inhabitants of the regions before European contact were no longer advantageous – and thus are observed with reduced frequency in modern-day population.
Authors:
John Lindo, Emilia Huerta-Sánchez, Shigeki Nakagome, Morten Rasmussen, Barbara Petzelt, Joycelynn Mitchell, Jerome S. Cybulski, Eske Willerslev, Michael DeGiorgio & Ripan S. Malhi
Corresponding author:
Ripan Malhi, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, United States, Email: malhi@illinois.edu, Tel: +1 217 265 0721
Canadian contributors:
Jerome S. Cybulski, Canadian Museum of History, 100 Rue Laurier, Gatineau, Quebec K1A 0M8, Canada, Department of Anthropology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 3K7, Canada, Department of Archaeology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia V5A 1S6, Canada
Joycelynn Mitchell, Metlakatla Treaty Office, PO Box 224, Prince Rupert, British Columbia V8J 3P6, Canada
Barbara Petzelt, Metlakatla Treaty Office, PO Box 224, Prince Rupert, British Columbia V8J 3P6, Canada
Original paper published in Nature on November 15, 2016.
