Sep 17 2007, 7:00 AM EST
News source: Business Wire
The Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation (SMGF), a non-profit scientific organization developing the world's largest online repository of correlated genetic and family history information, today announced that it has commenced a major DNA collection and research initiative in Panama.
The project, performed in partnership with the Gorgas Memorial Institute (Instituto Conmemorativo Gorgas de Estudios de la Salud Panama), will collect approximately 1,500-2,000 DNA samples and related multi-generation pedigree charts - including 100 to 200 representative samples from individuals in each of the country's nine provinces and three territories, from urban areas to rainforests, and from all major ethnic populations.
"We are honored to join with Gorgas Memorial Institute, Panama's primary institute for health and population studies, to study this country's diverse, multi-faceted populations," said Dr. Scott Woodward, executive director of the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation. "Panama is a fascinating melting pot, its genetic and cultural mix having been influenced by a broad array of Native American populations, Africans from the slave trade, and Europeans and Asians from multiple eras."
"As the presence of a Smithsonian Institute location in Panama attests, this nation is an extraordinary place for research of all types - from flora and fauna to human populations," added Ugo Perego, Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation's director of operations and study research coordinator. "We are confident that this Panama project will provide a great deal of valuable information, and will open up many genetic connections for Panama's three million citizens and for people in many nations throughout the world."
Scholars have long recognized that Panama has been an essential migratory corridor connecting North America and South America from ancient to modern times. The 60-mile-wide corridor has been heavily trafficked by various Native American populations emigrating north and south, Africans from the slave trade, Spanish conquistadores and other European explorers and settlers, and various Asian populations working on the Panama Canal and other projects.
"Panama is a melting pot of races; this has been our strength and also our weakness," said Dr. Jorge Motta, director general of the Gorgas Memorial Institute. "The idea that this is a land of transit for different people, I feel, has weakened our definition of a national image."
By analyzing ancient bone samples recently discovered in Panama Viejo, the SMGF-Gorgas project hopes to clarify and bolster Panama's national identity by providing new insights about Panama's ancient inhabitants and their descendants.
"Knowing the genetic composition of the people that lived in Panama more than 1000 years ago may give us proof that permanent human settlement has been present here for a long time and that this country is not only a bridge for people to walk by," said Motta. "Knowing the genetic mix of our people will also teach us that we are not simply made of whites, blacks, American Indians and Asians, but that we are a rich and beautiful mixture of all of these races."
Information obtained from this project will be posted on the SMGF website (www.smgf.org), the world's leading online repository of correlated genetic and family history information for people throughout the world, which currently contains in excess of five million records from more than 170 countries.
For information about other places throughout the world in which SMGF has performed DNA collection projects, visit www.smgf.org/maps/collections.jspx.
About Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation
Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation (SMGF), a non-profit research organization, is the pioneer in the rapidly developing fields of genetic genealogy and DNA analysis. Combining powerful new DNA researc
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