title: Distinguishing the co-ancestries of haplogroup G Y-chromosomes in the populations of Europe and the Caucasus.
abstract: Haplogroup G, together with J2 clades, has been associated with the spread of agriculture, especially in the European context. However, interpretations based on simple haplogroup frequency clines do not recognize underlying patterns of genetic diversification. Although progress has been recently made in resolving the haplogroup G phylogeny, a comprehensive survey of the geographic distribution patterns of the significant sub-clades of this haplogroup has not been conducted yet. Here we present the haplogroup frequency distribution and STR variation of 16 informative G sub-clades by evaluating 1472 haplogroup G chromosomes belonging to 98 populations ranging from Europe to Pakistan. Although no basal G-M201* chromosomes were detected in our data set, the homeland of this haplogroup has been estimated to be somewhere nearby eastern Anatolia, Armenia or western Iran, the only areas characterized by the co-presence of deep basal branches as well as the occurrence of high sub-haplogroup diversity. The P303 SNP defines the most frequent and widespread G sub-haplogroup. However, its sub-clades have more localized distribution with the U1-defined branch largely restricted to Near/Middle Eastern and the Caucasus, whereas L497 lineages essentially occur in Europe where they likely originated. In contrast, the only U1 representative in Europe is the G-M527 lineage whose distribution pattern is consistent with regions of Greek colonization. No clinal patterns were detected suggesting that the distributions are rather indicative of isolation by distance and demographic complexities.
authors.affiliation: Evolutionary Biology Group, Estonian Biocentre, Tartu, Estonia.
authors.forename: Siiri
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rootsi
authors.forename: Natalie M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Myres
authors.forename: Alice A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Mari
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Järve
authors.forename: Roy J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: King
authors.forename: Ildus
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kutuev
authors.forename: Vicente M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Cabrera
authors.forename: Elza K
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Khusnutdinova
authors.forename: Kärt
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Varendi
authors.forename: Hovhannes
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sahakyan
authors.forename: Doron M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Behar
authors.forename: Rita
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Khusainova
authors.forename: Oleg
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Balanovsky
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Balanovska
authors.forename: Pavao
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rudan
authors.forename: Levon
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yepiskoposyan
authors.forename: Ardeshir
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bahmanimehr
authors.forename: Shirin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Farjadian
authors.forename: Alena
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kushniarevich
authors.forename: Rene J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Herrera
authors.forename: Viola
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Grugni
authors.forename: Vincenza
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Battaglia
authors.forename: Carmela
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nici
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Crobu
authors.forename: Sena
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Karachanak
authors.forename: Baharak
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hooshiar Kashani
authors.forename: Massoud
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Houshmand
authors.forename: Mohammad H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Sanati
authors.forename: Draga
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Toncheva
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lisa
authors.forename: Ornella
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Semino
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chiaroni
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Di Cristofaro
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Villems
authors.forename: Toomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kivisild
authors.forename: Peter A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Underhill
mesh_terms: D001136:Armenia; D002904:Chromosomes, Human, 21-22 and Y / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D041322:Chromosomes, Human, Y / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D005060:Europe; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005787:Gene Frequency; D006801:Humans; D008877:Middle East; D010802:Phylogeny; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D044465:White People / Q000235:genetics*