Genetic Structure of Admixed Populations
Human migration resulted in population differentiation, and many populations, especially those living in different continents, have been isolated for quite a long time. However, subsequent migrations that have occurred over the past millennia have resulted in gene flow between previously separated human subpopulations. This has been a common phenomenon throughout the history of modern humans, as previously isolated populations often come into contact through colonization and migration. As a result, admixed populations came into being when previously mutually isolated populations met and inter-married. It is important to conduct a full analysis of genetic structure and characterize the genetic make-up of admixed populations. On the one hand, this will shed light on human genetic history; on the other hand, increased population admixture influences genome heterozygosity, which in turn will affect phenotypes relevant to health; thus, genetic admixture has many implications in medical research.