title: Genetic evidence of an East Asian origin and paleolithic northward migration of Y-chromosome haplogroup N.
abstract: The Y-chromosome haplogroup N-M231 (Hg N) is distributed widely in eastern and central Asia, Siberia, as well as in eastern and northern Europe. Previous studies suggested a counterclockwise prehistoric migration of Hg N from eastern Asia to eastern and northern Europe. However, the root of this Y chromosome lineage and its detailed dispersal pattern across eastern Asia are still unclear. We analyzed haplogroup profiles and phylogeographic patterns of 1,570 Hg N individuals from 20,826 males in 359 populations across Eurasia. We first genotyped 6,371 males from 169 populations in China and Cambodia, and generated data of 360 Hg N individuals, and then combined published data on 1,210 Hg N individuals from Japanese, Southeast Asian, Siberian, European and Central Asian populations. The results showed that the sub-haplogroups of Hg N have a distinct geographical distribution. The highest Y-STR diversity of the ancestral Hg N sub-haplogroups was observed in the southern part of mainland East Asia, and further phylogeographic analyses supports an origin of Hg N in southern China. Combined with previous data, we propose that the early northward dispersal of Hg N started from southern China about 21 thousand years ago (kya), expanding into northern China 12-18 kya, and reaching further north to Siberia about 12-14 kya before a population expansion and westward migration into Central Asia and eastern/northern Europe around 8.0-10.0 kya. This northward migration of Hg N likewise coincides with retreating ice sheets after the Last Glacial Maximum (22-18 kya) in mainland East Asia.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China. shihong@mail.kiz.ac.cn
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Xuebin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Qi
authors.forename: Hua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.forename: Xiaoming
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Runlin Z
authors.initials: RZ
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Bing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Su
mesh_terms: D002160:Cambodia; D002681:China; D041322:Chromosomes, Human, Y / Q000235:genetics*; D005060:Europe; D005819:Genetic Markers; D014644:Genetic Variation; D060005:Genotyping Techniques; D006239:Haplotypes; D063426:Human Migration; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D007812:Laos; D008297:Male; D008957:Models, Genetic; D012800:Siberia
chemical_list: D005819:Genetic Markers