title: A study of the peopling of Greenland using next generation sequencing of complete mitochondrial genomes.
abstract: The Greenlandic population history is characterized by a number of migrations of people of various ethnicities. In this work, the analysis of the complete mtDNA genome aimed to contribute to the ongoing debate on the origin of current Greenlanders and, at the same time, to address the migration patterns in the Greenlandic population from a female inheritance demographic perspective.
  
  
  
  We investigated the maternal genetic variation in the Greenlandic population by sequencing the whole mtDNA genome in 127 Greenlandic individuals using the Illumina MiSeq®platform.
  
  
  
  All Greenlandic individuals belonged to the Inuit mtDNA lineages A2a, A2b1, and D4b1a2a1. No European haplogroup was found.
  
  
  
  The mtDNA lineages seem to support the hypothesis that the Inuit in Greenland are descendants from the Thule migration. The results also reinforce the importance of isolation and genetic drift in shaping the genetic diversity in Greenlanders. Based on the mtDNA sequences, the Greenlandic Inuit are phylogenetically close to Siberian groups and Canadian Inuit.
authors.affiliation: Section of Forensic Genetics, Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, DK-2100, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lopopolo
authors.affiliation: Section of Forensic Genetics, Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, DK-2100, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Claus
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Børsting
authors.affiliation: Section of Forensic Genetics, Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, DK-2100, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Vania
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.affiliation: Section of Forensic Genetics, Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, DK-2100, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Niels
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Morling
mesh_terms: D000885:Anthropology, Physical; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics*; D003718:Denmark; D005260:Female; D054629:Genome, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics*; D006116:Greenland; D006239:Haplotypes; D059014:High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing / Q000379:methods*; D049690:History, Ancient; D063426:Human Migration / Q000266:history*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial
keywords: Greenland; NGS; haplogroup; mitochondrial DNA