News from DCEXS-UPF and IBE (CSIC-UPF)
The Y chromosome variant E-M183 is the most frequent fatherhood line in the Maghreb, present in about 70% of all men. This means that they share a common ancestor. After obtaining the complete sequence of the Y chromosome of North African carriers of the E-M183 variant, the scientists have determined the antiquity of the lineage in 2,500 years. For this study, the genetic data of a total of 200 volunteers from North Africa, the Middle East and the Iberian Peninsula were analysed.
"The dating of this variant has been controversial for the scientific community, since earlier research suggests an origin in the Neolithic era, 4,500 years ago, or even in the Paleolithic, more than 12,000 years ago," says Francesc Calafell , professor of the UPF and head of the group of research in Genomics of the Individuality of the IBE (CSIC-UPF). "But, the large number of people who share the lineage can only be explained by an extremely recent origin of this variant."
The Y chromosome is very useful for studying the historical, demographic and migratory processes of the past. It is responsible for determining masculinity (XY) and is transmitted only from parents to male children, but not to female (XX). - RF/PRBB
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Neus Solé-Morata, et.al. Whole Y-chromosome sequences reveal an extremely recent origin of the most common North African paternal lineage E-M183 (M81). Scientific Reports, Novembre 2017. DOI:10.1038/s41598-017-16271-y