(TibetanReview.net, Jan31’26) – The Himalayan populations have strongest of ancestral affinity with Tibet and Siberia but less with China, reported the timesofindia.com Jan 31, citing a recent DNA study presented at an ongoing international conference.
A recent DNA study on Himalayan populations reveals the strongest genetic ties with Tibet and Siberia, while links to China are relatively weaker, the report said, citing Rakesh Tamang, a Himalayan gene expert from the Calcutta University.
Tamang’s finding has highlighted the fact that the MYBPC3 gene, a major contributor to heart attacks in South Asia, is almost absent in Himalayan populations, translating to a lower risk of heart attacks linked to this gene.
He has revealed his finding in a lecture he delivered on the second day of an ongoing international conference ICAB-2026 at Banaras Hindu University, where he presented the findings of his DNA study on the people of the Himalayan region.
According to Tamang, the Himalayan region’s rich biodiversity is well-known, but human genetic diversity was largely unexplored till now.
“More than 100 ethnic groups live in the Himalayas. Over the past 10 years, we collected more than 1,000 DNA samples from various regions of the Himalayas. Detailed genetic analysis of these samples was conducted through DNA sequencing. The genes of the Himalayan people are linked to those of the people of Tibet and Siberia,” he has said.
According to Tamang, the Himalayas are not only geographically diverse but also a genetic ‘melting pot’, where the genes of ancient migrants still survive today. He has said Himalayan populations have a distinct genetic makeup when it comes to lactose persistence – the gene’s completely different from Europeans’, with Asian-specific variants dominating. This is stated to suggest that dairy farming and animal husbandry evolved uniquely in the Himalayan groups.
More than 100 ethnic groups (such as Sherpa, Bhutia, Lepcha, Tamang, Rai, Kirat, Gaddi, Bhotia, etc.) live in the Himalayan region, where biodiversity is already well known (flora and fauna), but research on human genetic diversity was limited. And Tamang has said, “This study proves that the Himalayas are not only a treasure trove of biodiversity, but also an important centre of human migration and genetic history.”