Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42272488›Full record

ArticleFundamental research2026

Genetic and linguistic landscapes of Gansu-Qinghai populations.

Haodong Chen, Huangzhen Huang, Boxuan Zhao, Yiling Jiang, Mengting Xu, Limin Qiu, Jin Sun, Yourong Ye, Hongbing Yao, Xinyi Jia and 6 more

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Article in Fundamental research, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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2 · The registry

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

16 authors.

Haodong ChenMinistry of Education Key Laboratory of Contemporary Anthropology, Center for Evolutionary Biology, Department of Anthropology and Human Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China.
Huangzhen HuangMinistry of Education Key Laboratory of Contemporary Anthropology, Center for Evolutionary Biology, Department of Anthropology and Human Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China.
Boxuan ZhaoInstitute of Archaeological Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China.
Yiling JiangSchool of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China.
Mengting XuSchool of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China.
Limin QiuSchool of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China.
Jin SunSchool of Cultural Heritage and Information Management, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200433, China.
Yourong YeFujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Philosophy and Social Sciences in Bioanthropology, Institute of Anthropology, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China.
Hongbing YaoKey Laboratory of Evidence Science Techniques Research and Application, Gansu University of Political Science and Law, Lanzhou 730000, China.
Xinyi JiaKey Laboratory of Evidence Science Techniques Research and Application, Gansu University of Political Science and Law, Lanzhou 730000, China.
Kai SunSchool of Liberal Arts, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China.
Jiangtao ShenThe School of Literature and Journalism, Yanan University, Yanan 716000, China.
Hao LiDepartment of English and Linguistics Language Typology, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Mainz 55128, Germany.
Dan XuDepartment of English and Linguistics Language Typology, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Mainz 55128, Germany.
Chuan-Chao WangMinistry of Education Key Laboratory of Contemporary Anthropology, Center for Evolutionary Biology, Department of Anthropology and Human Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China.
Shaoqing WenInstitute of Archaeological Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The Gansu-Qinghai (GQ) region is a critical Eurasian contact zone with exceptional linguistic and genetic diversity. However, genomic studies integrating genetic and linguistic evidence in areas with intensive language mixing remain limited. We conducted fine-scale genomic analyses on 153 new samples from four linguistically mixing or mixed regions: Linxia and Xiahe in Gansu, and Gan'gou and Wutun in Qinghai. Our findings reveal three primary ancestral components: Yellow River, western Eurasian steppe, and Tibetan Plateau (TP)-related lineages. While non-Han populations show pronounced genetic heterogeneity and varying patterns of language maintenance, Han populations exhibit asymmetric convergence. Specifically, the Wutun Han show concordant genetic and linguistic shifts, whereas other Han groups exhibit linguistic structural convergence without corresponding gene flow. Widespread east-west admixture was detected in both Han Chinese and non-Han populations from the GQ region, primarily dating to the Tang/Song and Yuan Dynasties. Together, our interdisciplinary genetic-linguistic framework reveals complex and asymmetric processes underlying population interaction and language evolution in the GQ contact zone.

Indexed as

Co-evolutionGansu-Qinghai regionGene flowLanguage admixturePopulation genetics

Identifiers

PMID42272488
PMCPMC13247448

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.