Genome-wide analysis reveals mutual gene flow between goats from Island Southeast Asia and from Southern Africa

This study aimed to reveal a comprehensive genetic diversity and genetic structure of Island Southeast Asian (ISEA) goats, and infer the details of gene introgressions and propagation routes in ISEA goats using genome-wide SNPs. Correlation analysis of the distance from the domestication center and the genetic diversity of each Asian population showed a significant negative correlation (r = - 0.796, p = 2.66E-05), while the Philippines showed a relatively high genetic diversity (He = 0.363) against the distance, suggesting the multiple propagation routes and admixture history in Philippine goats. Reduced Representation Admixture Analysis at K=6 showed that six clusters (Europe, Northwest Africa, Southern Africa, Eastern Africa, Asia and Southeast Asia) were formed based primarily on geographical location, and ISEA goats included African and Europe components. However, this introgression is much lower in Indochinese goats. In addition, the Southern African and European populations included Southeast Asia component. Treemix and f4 statistics analyses showed the genetic influence and gene flow between ISEA and the Southern Africa. The results of this study have revealed obvious mutual gene flow between ISEA and the Southern African regions through the European maritime activities across the Indian Ocean since the Middle Ages.