POPULATION GENETIC-STUDY IN HAINAN ISLAND, CHINA .2. GENETIC AFFINITYANALYSES

A population genetic study was carried out on six populations (two Li populations, two Miao populations, one Hui population, and one Han pop ulation) in Hainan Island, Southern China. Allele frequency data for t hese six populations and those for some other Asian populations were u sed to estimate genetic distances between populations, and genetic aff inity dendrograms and networks were constructed by using UPGMA and the neighbor-joining method, respectively. The two Li populations showed a close relationship, while the two Miao populations were relatively d istant from each other. These six populations of Hainan Island showed a close affinity with Zhuang of Southern China, Thailanders, and Javan ese, but they are distant from populations around northern China (Japa nese, Mongolian, and Korean). Divergence time between the Li-Miao grou p and Japanese was estimated to be roughly 19,000-26,000 years.