title: Population structure in the Mediterranean basin: a Y chromosome perspective.
abstract: The Mediterranean region has been characterised by a number of pre-historical and historical demographic events whose legacy on the current genetic landscape is still a matter of debate. In order to investigate the degree of population structure across the Mediterranean, we have investigated Y chromosome variation in a large dataset of Mediterranean populations, 11 of which are first described here. Our analyses identify four main clusters in the Mediterranean that can be labelled as North Africa, Arab, Central-East and West Mediterranean. In particular, Near Eastern samples tend to separate according to the presence of Arab Y chromosome lineages, suggesting that the Arab expansion played a major role in shaping the current genetic structuring within the Fertile Crescent.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University College of London, London, UK. cristian.capelli@promega.com
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Capelli
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Redhead
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Romano
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Calì
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lefranc
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Delague
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Megarbane
authors.forename: A E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Felice
authors.forename: V L
authors.initials: VL
authors.lastname: Pascali
authors.forename: P I
authors.initials: PI
authors.lastname: Neophytou
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Poulli
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Novelletto
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Malaspina
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Terrenato
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Berebbi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fellous
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.forename: D B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Goldstein
mesh_terms: D041322:Chromosomes, Human, Y; D005006:Ethnicity; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005828:Genetics, Population; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019083:Mediterranean Region