title: The congruence between matrilineal genetic (mtDNA) and geographic diversity of Iranians and the territorial populations.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  From the ancient era, emergence of Agriculture in the connecting region of Mesopotamia and the Iranian plateau at the foothills of the Zagros Mountains, made Iranian gene pool as an important source of populating the region. It has differentiated the population spread and different language groups. In order to trace the maternal genetic affinity between Iranians and other populations of the area and to establish the place of Iranians in a broad framework of ethnically and linguistically diverse groups of Middle Eastern and South Asian populations, a comparative study of territorial groups was designed and used in the population statistical analysis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Mix of 616 samples was sequenced for complete mtDNA or hyper variable regions in this study. A published dataset of neighboring populations was used as a comparison in the Iranian matrilineal lineage study based on mtDNA haplogroups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Statistical analyses data, demonstrate a close genetic structure of all Iranian populations, thus suggesting their origin from a common maternal ancestral gene pool and show that the diverse maternal genetic structure does not reflect population differentiation in the region in their language.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In the aggregate of the eastward spreads of proto-Elamo-Dravidian language from the Southwest region of Iran, the Elam province, a reasonable degree of homogeneity has been observed among Iranians in this study. The approach will facilitate our perception of the more detailed relationship of the ethnic groups living in Iran with the other ancient peoples of the area, testing linguistic hypothesis and population movements.
authors: Biotechnology Department, Marvdasht Branch, Islamic Azad University, Marvdasht, Iran.
authors: Ardeshir
authors: A
authors: Bahmanimehr
authors: Molecular Biology, Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute, Ahvaz, Iran.
authors: Ghafar
authors: G
authors: Eskandari
authors: Biotechnology and Bioengineering Department, School of Advanced Medical Science, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
authors: Fatemeh
authors: F
authors: Nikmanesh
keywords: Iranian gene pool; Maternal lineage; Molecular anthropology; mtDNA