title: Signature of recent historical events in the European Y-chromosomal STR haplotype distribution.
abstract: Previous studies of human Y-chromosomal single-nucleotide polymorphisms (Y-SNPs) established a link between the extant Y-SNP haplogroup distribution and the prehistoric demography of Europe. By contrast, our analysis of seven rapidly evolving Y-chromosomal short tandem repeat loci (Y-STRs) in over 12,700 samples from 91 different locations in Europe reveals a signature of more recent historic events, not previously detected by other genetic markers. Cluster analysis based upon molecular variance yields two clearly identifiable sub-clusters of Western and Eastern European Y-STR haplotypes, and a diverse transition zone in central Europe, where haplotype spectra change more rapidly with longitude than with latitude. This and other observed patterns of Y-STR similarity may plausibly be related to particular historical incidents, including, for example, the expansion of the Franconian and Ottoman Empires. We conclude that Y-STRs may be capable of resolving male genealogies to an unparalleled degree and could therefore provide a useful means to study local population structure and recent demographic history.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Legal Medicine, Humboldt-University, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Lutz
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Roewer
authors.forename: Peter J P
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Croucher
authors.forename: Sascha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Willuweit
authors.forename: Tim T
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Manfred
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kayser
authors.forename: Rüdiger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lessig
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: de Knijff
authors.forename: Mark A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Jobling
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tyler-Smith
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Krawczak
mesh_terms: D041322:Chromosomes, Human, Y; D005060:Europe; D005838:Genotype; D006239:Haplotypes; D006664:History; D006801:Humans; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D020080:Tandem Repeat Sequences / Q000235:genetics*