Hindawi Publishing Corporation BioMed Research International Volume 2015, Article ID 651415, 16 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/651415 Research Article Genetic and Cultural Reconstruction of the Migration of an Ancient Lineage Desmond D. Mascarenhas,1 Anupuma Raina,2 Christopher E. Aston,3 and Dharambir K. Sanghera3 1 Mayflower Organization for Research and Education, Sunnyvale, CA, USA 2Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi 110029, India 3Department of Pediatrics, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA Correspondence should be addressed to Desmond D. Mascarenhas;
[email protected] Received 10 May 2015; Revised 24 August 2015; Accepted 25 August 2015 Academic Editor: Peter J. Oefner Copyright © 2015 Desmond D. Mascarenhas et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. A rare R1a1 Y-haplogroup (Y-HG) L657 clade subtype designated as LPKSTR is found in most male members of a clan of “founder” families within the Goud Saraswat Brahmin community in Lotli town in Western India. TMRCA calculations using pairwise comparisons to control cohorts suggested a probable migration history distinct from the canonical narrative for medieval migration of orthodox Brahmin families to South India. Using Y-HG centroid analysis, chi-square analysis of TMRCA distributions and archeological find-spots, and discriminant function analysis we show that the parental Z93 L342.2 subclade in which LPKSTR occurs originated in West Asia and that LPKSTR individuals migrated toward the southeast by a Bolan Pass route distinct from the traditionally presumed route of Brahmin ingress into the Indian subcontinent.