title: A predominantly neolithic origin for European paternal lineages.
abstract: The relative contributions to modern European populations of Paleolithic hunter-gatherers and Neolithic farmers from the Near East have been intensely debated. Haplogroup R1b1b2 (R-M269) is the commonest European Y-chromosomal lineage, increasing in frequency from east to west, and carried by 110 million European men. Previous studies suggested a Paleolithic origin, but here we show that the geographical distribution of its microsatellite diversity is best explained by spread from a single source in the Near East via Anatolia during the Neolithic. Taken with evidence on the origins of other haplogroups, this indicates that most European Y chromosomes originate in the Neolithic expansion. This reinterpretation makes Europe a prime example of how technological and cultural change is linked with the expansion of a Y-chromosomal lineage, and the contrast of this pattern with that shown by maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA suggests a unique role for males in the transition.
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Balaresque
authors.forename: Georgina R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Bowden
authors.forename: Susan M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Adams
authors.forename: Ho-Yee
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Leung
authors.forename: Turi E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: King
authors.forename: Zoë H
authors.initials: ZH
authors.lastname: Rosser
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Goodwin
authors.forename: Jean-Paul
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Moisan
authors.forename: Christelle
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Richard
authors.forename: Ann
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Millward
authors.forename: Andrew G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Demaine
authors.forename: Guido
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Barbujani
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Previderè
authors.forename: Ian J
authors.initials: IJ
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tyler-Smith
authors.forename: Mark A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Jobling
mesh_terms: D041322:Chromosomes, Human, Y; D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D005060:Europe; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005843:Geography; D006239:Haplotypes; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats; D011157:Population Dynamics; D044465:White People / Q000235:genetics*