Whole genome shotgun sequencing data of 13 individuals from Bubi people, a population from Bioko Island (Guinea)

Bioko is one of the few islands around Africa, the most genetically diverse continent. The Bubis are native Bantu-speakers inhabitants of Bioko, which are believed to have colonized it about 2,000 years ago. We have sequenced the genome of thirteen Bubis at high coverage and analysed them in the context of mainland populations from the Gulf of Guinea. We found that the closest mainland population to the Bubis are Bantu groups from Angola, like the Ovimbundu. The Bubis show less rainforest hunter-gatherer (RHG) ancestry than most Bantu-speaking groups. However, their RHG component does not seem to come from a different source and could have reached the Bubis by gene flow from the mainland after the settlement of the island. By studying identity-by-descent (IBD) genomic tracks we found evidence of some level of genetic isolation in the Bubis, attributable to the island effect. Additionally, we have determined malaria-resistant alleles in this population, which is known to have one of the highest malaria incidence rates in the world. By describing its dispersal to the Atlantic islands the genomic characterization of the Bubis contributes to the understanding of the margins of the massive Bantu migration that shaped all sub-Saharan African populations.