BEIJING - A group of international researchers has constructed a comprehensive Southeast Asian population genome variation dataset, according to the Kunming Institute of Zoology (KIZ) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Mainland Southeast Asia (MSEA) has rich ethnic and cultural diversity with a population of nearly 300 million. However, people from MSEA are underrepresented in the current human genomic databases.

Researchers from countries including China, Thailand and Cambodia spent more than 10 years venturing deep into the rainforests of Southeast Asian countries and collecting samples from Southeast Asian populations covering five major language families in six countries. They successfully completed whole-genome deep sequencing of 3,023 samples.

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The international researchers have, for the first time, comprehensively mapped the genetic variation and genomic structure of Southeast Asian populations, revealing how the genomic landscape of the region has been shaped by the combined effects of ancient population differentiation, admixture, adaptation, changes in population size and gene flow from archaic humans, according to their research article published in the journal Nature.

Additionally, the study has revealed the genetic mechanisms underlying phenotypic traits related to adaptation to tropical rainforests, such as skin color, body height and malaria resistance. This provides important evidence for understanding how natural selection has shaped modern human phenotypic diversity.

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The study has also detected multiple traces of Denisovan gene flow in Southeast Asian indigenous populations, suggesting that this archaic human group may have been widely distributed across the vast region stretching from Siberia to Southeast Asia, the KIZ said. This finding redefines the geographical boundaries of human prehistoric evolution.

Phase II of the genome dataset has been initiated, according to the KIZ, which is dedicated to building a high-resolution genomic map covering the entire Southeast Asian region.