Post by Cameo on Jan 24, 2007 2:19:14 GMT -5
Sahara passage: the post-glacial recolonisation of North Africa by mitochondrial L* haplotypes.
AD Holden1. P Forster2. 1Department of Biological Anthropology, University of Cambridge, 2McDonald Institute for
Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge.
The field of anthropological genetics has seen numerous studies examining North African genetic diversity, especially with regard to connections between North Africa, Iberia, and the Near East (see Plaza et al. 2003). However, as of yet the genetic relationship between North Africans and sub-
Saharan Africans has not been adequately explored, even though nearly 30% of haplotypes among North Africans are sub-Saharan L* haplotypes. The examination of the origin in space and time of sub-Saharan L* haplotypes in North Africa, with particular emphasis on the genetic diversity of Libyans, is the primary focus of this research. We analysed mtDNA sequences of native Libyans (N = 111) in concert with previously published North African sequences. We then
determined the genetic relatedness between each distinct population. Finally, we calculated a coalescence date for the origins of the L* haplotype, L3e, in our North African dataset. Our results show high genetic diversity among Libyans, as well as low genetic distances between Libyans and populations west of Libya. Our analysis also finds a coalescence date of 10.5 ka for the L3e haplotype. We conclude the arrival of L3e in North Africa confirms archaeological evidence of a post-glacial re-colonisation of the Sahara during the Holocene, and infers a prehistoric the arrival of L* haplotypes into North Africa. Future research will include an analysis of Y chromosome sequences, to examine anypotential sex bias, as well as analyses from the Sahel, in order to give a comparative
picture of mtDNA diversity immediately south of the Sahara.
AD Holden1. P Forster2. 1Department of Biological Anthropology, University of Cambridge, 2McDonald Institute for
Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge.
The field of anthropological genetics has seen numerous studies examining North African genetic diversity, especially with regard to connections between North Africa, Iberia, and the Near East (see Plaza et al. 2003). However, as of yet the genetic relationship between North Africans and sub-
Saharan Africans has not been adequately explored, even though nearly 30% of haplotypes among North Africans are sub-Saharan L* haplotypes. The examination of the origin in space and time of sub-Saharan L* haplotypes in North Africa, with particular emphasis on the genetic diversity of Libyans, is the primary focus of this research. We analysed mtDNA sequences of native Libyans (N = 111) in concert with previously published North African sequences. We then
determined the genetic relatedness between each distinct population. Finally, we calculated a coalescence date for the origins of the L* haplotype, L3e, in our North African dataset. Our results show high genetic diversity among Libyans, as well as low genetic distances between Libyans and populations west of Libya. Our analysis also finds a coalescence date of 10.5 ka for the L3e haplotype. We conclude the arrival of L3e in North Africa confirms archaeological evidence of a post-glacial re-colonisation of the Sahara during the Holocene, and infers a prehistoric the arrival of L* haplotypes into North Africa. Future research will include an analysis of Y chromosome sequences, to examine anypotential sex bias, as well as analyses from the Sahel, in order to give a comparative
picture of mtDNA diversity immediately south of the Sahara.
