Indigenous Australian genomes show deep structure and rich novel variation

The Indigenous peoples of Australia have a rich linguistic and cultural history. How this relates to genetic diversity remains largely unknown because of their limited engagement with genomic studies. Here we analyse the genomes of 159 individuals from four remote Indigenous communities, including people who speak a language (Tiwi) not from the most widespread family (Pama-Nyungan). This large collection of Indigenous Australian genomes was made possible by careful community engagement and consultation.

Citation:
Silcocks M, Farlow A, Hermes A, ……. Baynam G, Jenkins MR, et al for the National Centre for Indigenous Genomics. Indigenous Australian genomes show deep structure and rich novel variation. Nature. 2023;624(7992):593-601

Keywords:
Ethnology; Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders; genetics; datasets; population density; human genome

Abstract:
The Indigenous peoples of Australia have a rich linguistic and cultural history. How this relates to genetic diversity remains largely unknown because of their limited engagement with genomic studies. Here we analyse the genomes of 159 individuals from four remote Indigenous communities, including people who speak a language (Tiwi) not from the most widespread family (Pama-Nyungan). This large collection of Indigenous Australian genomes was made possible by careful community engagement and consultation.