Data from: Ethnolinguistic structuring of sorghum genetic diversity in Africa and the role of local seed systems

Sorghum is a drought-tolerant crop with a vital role in the livelihoods of millions of people in marginal areas. We examined genetic structure in this diverse crop in Africa. On the continent-wide scale, we identified three major sorghum populations (Central, Southern, and Northern) that are associated with the distribution of ethnolinguistic groups on the continent. The codistribution of the Central sorghum population and the Nilo-Saharan language family supports a proposed hypothesis about a close and causal relationship between the distribution of sorghum and languages in the region between the Chari and the Nile rivers. The Southern sorghum population is associated with the Bantu languages of the Niger-Congo language family, in agreement with the farming-language codispersal hypothesis as it has been related to the Bantu expansion. The Northern sorghum population is distributed across early Niger-Congo and Afro-Asiatic language family areas with dry agroclimatic conditions. At a finer geographic scale, the genetic substructure within the Central sorghum population is associated with language-group expansions within the Nilo-Saharan language family. A case study of the seed system of the Pari people, a Western-Nilotic ethnolinguistic group, provides a window into the social and cultural factors involved in generating and maintaining the continent-wide diversity patterns. The age-grade system, a cultural institution important for the expansive success of this ethnolinguistic group in the past, plays a central role in the management of sorghum landraces and continues to underpin the resilience of their traditional seed system.高粱（Sorghum）是一种耐旱作物，在边缘地区数百万民众的生计中扮演着至关重要的角色。本研究针对非洲这一多样性丰富的作物开展遗传结构分析。在全非洲大陆尺度下，本研究鉴定出三大高粱种群——中部种群、南部种群与北部种群，其分布与非洲大陆各民族语言群体的分布密切相关。中部高粱种群与尼罗-撒哈拉语系（Nilo-Saharan language family）的共同分布，佐证了一项已提出的假说：在乍得河与尼罗河之间的区域内，高粱的分布与当地语言的分布存在紧密且因果性的关联。南部高粱种群与尼日尔-刚果语系（Niger-Congo language family）下的班图语支存在关联，这与"农耕与语言共扩散"假说相符——该假说认为班图人的扩张进程与高粱种群的扩散密切相关。北部高粱种群分布于早期隶属于尼日尔-刚果语系与亚非语系（Afro-Asiatic language family）且农业气候干旱的区域。在更精细的地理尺度下，中部高粱种群内部的遗传亚结构，与尼罗-撒哈拉语系内各语言群体的扩张存在关联。针对西尼罗特语族帕里族（Pari people）的种子系统开展的案例研究，为揭示塑造并维持非洲大陆高粱多样性分布格局的社会与文化因素提供了重要视角。年龄级制度（age-grade system）作为一项曾助力该民族语言群体在历史上实现扩张成功的文化制度，在高粱地方品种（landraces）的管理中发挥核心作用，并持续支撑着其传统种子系统的抗逆韧性。