title: Turkish Cypriot paternal lineages bear an autochthonous character and closest resemblance to those from neighbouring Near Eastern populations.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Cyprus is an island in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea with a documented history of human settlements dating back over 10,000 years.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the paternal lineages of a representative population from Cyprus in the context of the larger Near Eastern/Southeastern European genetic landscape.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three hundred and eighty samples from the second most populous ethnic group in Cyprus (Turkish Cypriots) were analysed at 17 Y-chromosomal short tandem repeat (Y-STR) loci.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A haplotype diversity of 0.9991 was observed, along with a number of allelic variants, multi-allelic patterns and a most frequent haplotype that have not previously been reported elsewhere. Pairwise genetic distance comparisons of the Turkish Cypriot Y-STR dataset and Y-chromosomal haplogroup distribution with those from Near East/Southeastern Europe both suggested a closer genetic connection with the Near Eastern populations. Median-joining network analyses of the most frequent haplogroups also revealed some evidence towards in situ radiation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Turkish Cypriot paternal lineages seem to bear an autochthonous character and closest genetic connection with the neighbouring Near Eastern populations. These observations are further underscored by the fact that the haplogroups associated with the spread of Neolithic Agricultural Revolution from the Fertile Crescent (E1b1b/J1/J2/G2a) dominate (>70%) the Turkish Cypriot haplogroup distribution.
authors.affiliation: a Turkish Cypriot DNA Laboratory , Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus Turkish Cypriot Member Office , Nicosia (North Cyprus) , Turkey.
authors.forename: Cemal
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gurkan
authors.affiliation: b Department of Information Systems Engineering , Near East University , Nicosia (North Cyprus) , Turkey.
authors.forename: Huseyin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sevay
authors.affiliation: a Turkish Cypriot DNA Laboratory , Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus Turkish Cypriot Member Office , Nicosia (North Cyprus) , Turkey.
authors.forename: Damla Kanliada
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Demirdov
authors.affiliation: c Department of Anthropology , Ankara University , Ankara , Turkey.
authors.forename: Sinem
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hossoz
authors.affiliation: c Department of Anthropology , Ankara University , Ankara , Turkey.
authors.forename: Deren
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ceker
authors.affiliation: a Turkish Cypriot DNA Laboratory , Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus Turkish Cypriot Member Office , Nicosia (North Cyprus) , Turkey.
authors.forename: Kerem
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Teralı
authors.affiliation: c Department of Anthropology , Ankara University , Ankara , Turkey.
authors.forename: Ayla Sevim
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Erol
mesh_terms: D041322:Chromosomes, Human, Y / Q000235:genetics*; D003535:Cyprus; D005787:Gene Frequency; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006239:Haplotypes; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats; D014421:Turkey / Q000208:ethnology
keywords: Cyprus; Y-STR; Y-chromosome; Yfiler; variants