title: Isolation and prominent aboriginal maternal legacy in the present-day population of La Gomera (Canary Islands).
abstract: The present-day population structure of La Gomera is outstanding in its high aboriginal heritage, the greatest in the Canary Islands. This was earlier confirmed by both mitochondrial DNA and autosomal analyses, although genetic drift due to the fifteenth century European colonization could not be excluded as the main factor responsible. The present mtDNA study of aboriginal remains and extant samples from the six municipal districts of the island indeed demonstrates that the pre-Hispanic colonization of La Gomera by North African people involved a strong founder event, shown by the high frequency of the indigenous Canarian U6b1a lineage in the aboriginal samples (65%). This value is even greater than that observed in the extant population (44%), which in turn is the highest of all the seven Canary Islands. In contrast to previous results obtained for the aboriginal populations of Tenerife and La Palma, haplogroups related to secondary waves of migration were not detected in La Gomera aborigines, indicating that isolation also had an important role in shaping the current population. The rugged relief of La Gomera divided into several distinct valleys probably promoted subsequent aboriginal intra-insular differentiation that has continued after the European colonization, as seen in the present-day population structure observed on the island.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Genética, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de La Laguna, La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain.
authors.forename: Rosa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fregel
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Genética, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de La Laguna, La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain.
authors.forename: Vicente M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Cabrera
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Genética, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de La Laguna, La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain.
authors.forename: José M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Larruga
authors.affiliation: Museo Arqueológico de La Gomera, Unidad de Patrimonio Histórico, Cabildo de La Gomera, San Sebastián de la Gomera, La Gomera, Spain.
authors.forename: Juan C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Hernández
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Geografía e Historia, Universidad de La Laguna, La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain.
authors.forename: Alejandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gámez
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Genética, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Gran Canaria, Spain.
authors.forename: Jose J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Pestano
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Geografía e Historia, Universidad de La Laguna, La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain.
authors.forename: Matilde
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Arnay
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Genética, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de La Laguna, La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain.
authors.forename: Ana M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: González
mesh_terms: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics*; D005006:Ethnicity; D040961:Genetic Drift; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005828:Genetics, Population; D063426:Human Migration; D006801:Humans; D040582:Inheritance Patterns; D010802:Phylogeny; D060047:Reproductive Isolation; D013030:Spain
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial