title: Comprehensive view of the population history of Arabia as inferred by mtDNA variation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Genetic and archaeological research supports the theory that Arabia was the first region traversed by modern humans as they left Africa and dispersed throughout Eurasia. However, the role of Arabia from the initial migration out of Africa until more recent times is still unclear.
  
  
  METHODS
  We have generated 379 new hypervariable segment 1 (HVS-1) sequences from a range of geographic locations throughout Yemen. We compare these data to published HVS-1 sequences representing Arabia and neighboring regions to build a unique dataset of 186 populations and 14,290 sequences.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We identify 4,563 haplotypes unevenly distributed across Arabia and neighboring regions. Arabia contains higher proportions of shared haplotypes than the regions with which it shares these haplotypes, suggesting high levels of migration through the region. Populations in Arabia show higher levels of population expansion than those in East Africa, but lower levels than the Near East, Middle East or India. Arabian populations also show very high levels of genetic variation that overlaps with variation from most other regions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We take a population genetics approach to provide a comprehensive view of the relationships of Arabian and neighboring populations. We show that Arabian populations share closest links to the Near East and North Africa, but have a more ancient origin with slower demographic growth and/or lower migration rates. Our conclusions are supported by phylogenetic studies but also suggest that recent migrations have erased signals of earlier events.
authors.affiliation: Archaeogenetics Laboratory, Institute of Archaeology of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Viktor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Černý
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology and Human Genetics, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Martina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Čížková
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics and Evolution, Anthropology Unit, Laboratory of Anthropology, Genetics and Peopling History, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Estella S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Poloni
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Sana'a, Sana'a, Yemen.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Al-Meeri
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32610-3610.
authors.forename: Connie J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Mulligan
mesh_terms: D000349:Africa; D000885:Anthropology, Physical; D001083:Arabia / Q000208:ethnology; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics*; D014644:Genetic Variation / Q000235:genetics*; D005828:Genetics, Population; D049674:History, 21st Century; D049690:History, Ancient; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D008877:Middle East
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial
keywords: Arabian Peninsula; migrations; mtDNA variation