The genetic and cultural impact of the Steppe migration into Europe

During the early 3rd millennium BCE migration from Pontic Steppe, mainly related to Yamnaya culture, has affected European populations both culturally and genetically, however, it has long been debated to what extent this migration was male-driven, and how this replacement process took place which eliminated partially/largely Neolithic male lines over time.
This paper aims to evaluate the influence of the Steppe migration on European Bronze Age populations by calculating both male and female genetic contributions of the Steppe-related ancestry to the European Bronze Age populations. With this approach, we will be able to clarify the hypotheses on whether it was male-biased migration or not.
To evaluate the genetic impact and the proportion of the Steppe-related ancestry to the European Bronze Age populations, we performed PCA and qpAdm analyses by using published genome-wide data. In addition, we quantified male and female genetic contribution into Europe by using the analysis of uniparental markers and the X-chromosome.
The Steppe migration had a considerable impact on the genetic makeup of the Bronze Age European populations. The data suggest that the Steppe-related ancestry arriving into Central Europe was male-driven, dominantly in the Corded Ware culture populations and lesser in the Bell Beaker populations. In fact, there is no evidence that this migration had a significant input on the mitochondrial genetic pool of all European Bronze Age populations.
Our analyses suggest that the Steppe-related ancestry had genetic impact on mainly Central-Eastern Europe. Moreover, this migration was male-driven for most of the Central European populations belonging to the Corded Ware groups, and to a lesser extent for the Bell Beaker groups.

公元前第三千纪早期，源自庞蒂克草原（Pontic Steppe）、主要与颜那亚文化（Yamnaya culture）相关的人群迁徙，在文化与遗传层面均对欧洲人群产生了影响；然而长期以来，学界对于该迁徙的男性主导程度，以及这一随时间推移部分或大幅取代新石器时代（Neolithic）男性谱系的替代过程具体如何发生，始终存在争议。本研究旨在通过计算与草原迁徙相关的祖源对欧洲青铜时代（Bronze Age）人群的男性与女性遗传贡献，评估该草原迁徙对欧洲青铜时代人群的影响。借助这一研究路径，我们可厘清该迁徙是否属于男性偏向性迁徙的相关假说。为评估与草原迁徙相关的祖源对欧洲青铜时代人群的遗传影响及其占比，本研究利用已发表的全基因组数据开展主成分分析（PCA）与qpAdm分析。此外，我们通过单亲遗传标记（uniparental markers）与X染色体（X-chromosome）分析，量化了该迁徙向欧洲输入的男性与女性遗传贡献。此次草原迁徙对青铜时代欧洲人群的遗传构成产生了显著影响。数据显示，传入中欧的与草原迁徙相关的祖源呈男性主导特征，这一特征在绳纹器文化（Corded Ware culture）人群中尤为突出，在钟形杯文化（Bell Beaker culture）人群中则相对较弱。事实上，尚无证据表明该迁徙对所有欧洲青铜时代人群的线粒体遗传库产生了显著贡献。我们的分析结果表明，与草原迁徙相关的祖源主要对中东欧地区产生了遗传影响。此外，对于绝大多数隶属于绳纹器文化群体的中欧人群而言，此次迁徙呈男性主导特征；而对于钟形杯文化群体，这一特征则相对较弱。