Synthetic review on the genetic relatedness between North Africa and Arabia deduced from paternal lineage distributions S Triki-Fendri, A Rebai 2015
Abstract
-Y-chromosome single-nucleotide polymorphisms are highly used for phylogenetic construction and in the study of human migration patterns and evolution. Knowing that these genetic markers are associated with certain aspects of human culture like languages, it has been reported that some specific haplogroups characterize the Arab world. In this review, we draw the main conclusions referring to these polymorphisms in the Arab world, in order to provide an anthropological approach to the analysis of the genetic landscape of these populations. In the Middle East, the predominant categories of Y chromosomes are varieties associated with haplogroup J-M304. It has been hypothesized that the center of origin of sub-haplogroup J1-M267 would be the southern Arabian Peninsula whereas J2-M172 seems to be originating from the Fertile Crescent region. In North African populations, the distribution of E-M81, the most common haplogroup there, closely matches the present area of Berber-speaking population’s allocation on the continent, suggesting a close haplogroup-ethnic group parallelism. Remarkably, J1-M267 and J2-M172 were also encountered in North African populations but with less frequency than the Middle Eastern ones, showing an important paternal gene flow from the Middle East towards North Africa. This is in agreement with historical data such as the Phoenician migration flows, from the Fertile Crescent, and mainly to the Arab expansion during the spread of Islam and the important migration of Arabic tribes like the Hilalians that led to a large scale Arabization of North Africa.
posted
Remarkably, J1-M267 and J2-M172 were also encountered in North African populations but with less frequency than the Middle Eastern ones, showing an important paternal gene flow from the Middle East towards North Africa.
From the pattern it appears as if it becomeless abundand the deeper you go into Africa. From North to West.
Posts: 22245 | From: האם אינכם כילדי הכרית אלי בני ישראל | Registered: Nov 2010
| IP: Logged |
Arabic ranks fifth in the world’s league table of languages, with an estimated 300 million native Arabic speakers, comprising 3.8 % of the world’s population, and it is the official lingua franca of 27 countries from the Maghreb (North Africa) to the Middle East (Procházka, 2006; Versteegh, 1997). The standard definition of the Arab world comprises the 22 countries and territories stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the East, and from the Mediterranean Sea in the North to the Horn of Africa and the Indian Ocean in the southeast. Historically, many important events have occurred in the Arab word leading to the shaping of the modern populations inhabiting the region. For instance, The Middle East, essentially inhabited by Arabs, is well known for its important role in human history, particularly as a theatre for great historical events that changed the face of the world during the Neolithic period (Al- Zahery et al., 2011). Moreover, North Africa which was originally inhabited mainly by Berbers is currently mixed with some peoples originating from different civilizations, such as Phoenicians and Romans. However, the Berber language was not seriously threatened until the Islamic Arabs expanded their religion and culture to the Maghreb, since the end of the 7th Century onwards. Widely superseded by Arabic, Berber dialects are today confined to the more mountainous and desert rural areas of the region.
Given the geographic scope of the Arab world added to the important historical events occurring there, several population genetic studies using many types of genetic markers were undertaken in different Arab populations providing insight into the structure and relationships among Arab-Speaking populations. In this review, we aimed to gather the main conclusions referring to the non-recombining uniparental Y-chromosome DNA polymorphisms in this region, in order to provide an anthropological approach in the analysis of the genetic landscape there.
--Soumaya Triki-Fendri, Ahmed Rebai
Posts: 22245 | From: האם אינכם כילדי הכרית אלי בני ישראל | Registered: Nov 2010
| IP: Logged |
Haplogroup E is the most frequent haplogroup in Africa, but is also found in the Middle East, southern Europe and Asia (Cruciani et al., 2002; Semino et al., 2004; Karafet et al., 2008). Among its sub-clades, E-M81 and E-M78 seem to be of North African origin with Paleolithic and Neolithic expansions that reached surrounding areas (Arredi et al., 2004; Cruciani et al., 2007).
Firstly, E-M81 is the most common haplogroup in North Africa showing its highest concentrations in Northwestern Africa (76 % in Saharawis in Morocco (Arredi et al., 2004)) with cline frequencies decreasing eastward: Algeria (45 %), Libya (34 %) and Egypt (10 %) (Robino et al., 2008; Triki-Fendri et al., submitted; Arredi et al., 2004).
Besides, Ottoni et al., (2011) have reported that E-M81 appear to constitute a common paternal genetic matrix in the Tuareg populations where it was encountered at high frequency (89 %).
Hence, the distribution of this haplogroup in Africa closely matches the present area of Berber-speaking population’s allocation on the continent, suggesting a close haplogroup-ethnic group parallelism (Bosch et al., 2001; Cruciani et al., 2002; 2004; Arredi et al., 2004; Fadhlaoui-Zid et al., 2011; Bekada et al., 2013). However, knowing that the Berber dialects have been replaced by Arabic in North African populations, carriers of E-M81 haplogroup are currently Arab-speaking peoples whose ancestors were Berber-speaking.
Outside of Africa, E-M81 is almost absent in the Middle East and in Europe (with the exception of Iberia and Sicily). The presence of E-M81 in the Iberian Peninsula (12 % in southern Portugal) (Cruciani et al., 2004) has been attributed to trans-Mediterranean contacts linked to the Islamic influence, since it is typically Berber (Bosch et al., 2001; Semino et al., 2004; Beleza et al., 2006; Alvarez et al., 2009; Cruciani et al., 2007; Trombetta et al., 2011).
--Soumaya Triki-Fendri, Ahmed Rebai
Posts: 22245 | From: האם אינכם כילדי הכרית אלי בני ישראל | Registered: Nov 2010
| IP: Logged |
posted
Great post Troll Patrol. Years ago I saw a video on youtube that claimed the J haplogroups may have originated in Northeast Africa. Do you know anything about this theory?
-------------------- C. A. Winters Posts: 13012 | From: Chicago | Registered: Jan 2006
| IP: Logged |
posted
^ Not to speak for Troll Patrol, but J1 does exist in northeast and eastern Africa dating to before Arab-Islamic expansions. In fact its presence in Ethiopia dates to Neolithic times. Also, the highest frequency of ancestral hg J* is found in the island of Soqotra among indigenous Soqotri people, though J* is also found in coastal areas of the Horn and Yemen. For now, a Eurasian origin (Arabian) origin is postulated since J* is found in Soqotra and southern Arabia and its ancestor IJ to my knowledge has so far only been discovered among a few Iranian men.
Posts: 26348 | From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA | Registered: Feb 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
I was hoping this study would've been interesting but it's just ehhh. It doesn't tell us anything about the spread of J and E between africa and arabia that hasn't already been better covered in other studies. Actually some of it's arguments are highly questionable and they ignore parts of previous compelling studies that don't agree with what they say.
For example, it's already been shown that J1 in africa predates any "arab" expansion. See Tofanelli et al, J1-M267 Y lineage marks climate-driven pre-historical human displacements:
quote:Phylogenetic analyses depicted a new genetic background consistent with climate-driven demographic dynamics occurring during two key phases of human pre-history: (1) the spatial expansion of hunter gatherers in response to the end of the late Pleistocene cooling phases and (2) the displacement of groups of foragers/herders following the mid-Holocene rainfall retreats across the Sahara and Arabia. Furthermore, J1 STR motifs previously used to trace Arab or Jewish ancestries were shown unsuitable as diagnostic markers for ethnicity.
It was silly to equate genetic markers with specific ethnic groups that came about 1,000s of years after said markers. Also, the arab population was tiny so how could it have been responsible for the spread of so much J in africa and asia.
For some reason the authors of the study seem to use only frequency as the indication of haplogroup origin when we should all know by now that diversity is more important in showing origin and the J1's in arabia aren't very diverse and are the younger clades. The older J1* ancestor has highest frequency in anatolia/caucasus region. See map below from Chiaroni et al, The emergence of Y-chromosome haplogroup J1e among Arabic-speaking populations:
This is the code for the map: (a) Red symbols indicate the geographical locations of 36 populations analyzed. (b) Interpolated spatial contours of annual precipitation (mm) distribution. (c) Interpolated J1* frequency spatial distribution. (d) Interpolated J1e frequency spatial distribution. (e) Interpolated J1e mean haplotype variance spatial distribution. (f) Construed trajectories of J1e lineage spread episodes. In red are delineated the initial Holocene migrations from the Taurus/Zagros Mountains to the Arabian Peninsula. Shown with black arrows are the subsequent expansions of Arabic populations in Arabia beginning in the Bronze Age.
Also from said Chiaroni et al paper:
quote: Moreover, the previously described J1 (DYS388=13) chromosomes, frequently found in the Caucasus and eastern Anatolian populations, were ancestral to J1e and displayed an expansion time of 9000 years. For J1e, the Zagros/Taurus mountain region displays the highest haplotype diversity, although the J1e frequency increases toward the peripheral Arabian Peninsula. The southerly pattern of decreasing expansion time estimates is consistent with the serial drift and founder effect processes.
The authors of the study seem to want to make the data fit with the 2 historical events they are aware of (phoenician migration and "arab" expansion) but the data don't fit those events. And they seem to attribute much of the spread of J2 to phoenicians but no phoenicians have ever been genetically tested so they're basing this on current genetic distribution of lebanon. Other geneticists tend to do this too but am I the only one who thinks this is presumptuous?
Posts: 214 | Registered: Oct 2011
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by Clyde Winters: Great post Troll Patrol. Years ago I saw a video on youtube that claimed the J haplogroups may have originated in Northeast Africa. Do you know anything about this theory?
Thus far I have analyzed, J1 emerged at the Sinai. Which is part of Northeast Africa. AS can be seen about by Africurious.
The info Djehuti speak of, I am not familiar with.
Posts: 22245 | From: האם אינכם כילדי הכרית אלי בני ישראל | Registered: Nov 2010
| IP: Logged |
posted
?? Right on all points Afrocurious!!!! I like how you think. Good analysis. Haven't read the paper but I will take your word for it.
1. J1 pre-dates so called Islamic expansion to Africa. It has an ancient presence in Africa and Arabia.
2. They insist on Using outdated techniques such as FREQUENCY. Which is meaningless in the age of high resolution analysis. Where they can easily discern ancestral and derived haplotypes of hg-J or E eg chart below. I usual second guess the authors when they use such an old methodology as frequency. Usually they want to spin BS.
3. The sub-clades of hg-E-M78 ***IS** found in Southern Europe in fact throughtout Europe.
quote:Originally posted by africurious: I was hoping this study would've been interesting but it's just ehhh. It doesn't tell us anything about the spread of J and E between africa and arabia that hasn't already been better covered in other studies. Actually some of it's arguments are highly questionable and they ignore parts of previous compelling studies that don't agree with what they say.
For example, it's already been shown that J1 in africa predates any "arab" expansion. See Tofanelli et al, J1-M267 Y lineage marks climate-driven pre-historical human displacements:
quote:Phylogenetic analyses depicted a new genetic background consistent with climate-driven demographic dynamics occurring during two key phases of human pre-history: (1) the spatial expansion of hunter gatherers in response to the end of the late Pleistocene cooling phases and (2) the displacement of groups of foragers/herders following the mid-Holocene rainfall retreats across the Sahara and Arabia. Furthermore, J1 STR motifs previously used to trace Arab or Jewish ancestries were shown unsuitable as diagnostic markers for ethnicity.
It was silly to equate genetic markers with specific ethnic groups that came about 1,000s of years after said markers. Also, the arab population was tiny so how could it have been responsible for the spread of so much J in africa and asia.
For some reason the authors of the study seem to use only frequency as the indication of haplogroup origin when we should all know by now that diversity is more important in showing origin and the J1's in arabia aren't very diverse and are the younger clades. The older J1* ancestor has highest frequency in anatolia/caucasus region. See map below from Chiaroni et al, The emergence of Y-chromosome haplogroup J1e among Arabic-speaking populations:
This is the code for the map: (a) Red symbols indicate the geographical locations of 36 populations analyzed. (b) Interpolated spatial contours of annual precipitation (mm) distribution. (c) Interpolated J1* frequency spatial distribution. (d) Interpolated J1e frequency spatial distribution. (e) Interpolated J1e mean haplotype variance spatial distribution. (f) Construed trajectories of J1e lineage spread episodes. In red are delineated the initial Holocene migrations from the Taurus/Zagros Mountains to the Arabian Peninsula. Shown with black arrows are the subsequent expansions of Arabic populations in Arabia beginning in the Bronze Age.
Also from said Chiaroni et al paper:
quote: Moreover, the previously described J1 (DYS388=13) chromosomes, frequently found in the Caucasus and eastern Anatolian populations, were ancestral to J1e and displayed an expansion time of 9000 years. For J1e, the Zagros/Taurus mountain region displays the highest haplotype diversity, although the J1e frequency increases toward the peripheral Arabian Peninsula. The southerly pattern of decreasing expansion time estimates is consistent with the serial drift and founder effect processes.
The authors of the study seem to want to make the data fit with the 2 historical events they are aware of (phoenician migration and "arab" expansion) but the data don't fit those events. And they seem to attribute much of the spread of J2 to phoenicians but no phoenicians have ever been genetically tested so they're basing this on current genetic distribution of lebanon. Other geneticists tend to do this too but am I the only one who thinks this is presumptuous?
Posts: 12143 | From: When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable | Registered: Jun 2007
| IP: Logged |
posted
In addition. There are haplotypes of hg-J found ONLY in Africa. So the Jury is still out in hg-J origins.
-------------------- Without data you are just another person with an opinion - Deming Posts: 12143 | From: When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable | Registered: Jun 2007
| IP: Logged |
posted
Your are not the shifty DJ, so I will be nice, although DJ made some valid points above. I like you ….So…AMRTU…..where did I lie? And please no citing of outdated or out of context or off-topic quotes. Eg about “all SSA from East to West in Africa are siblings” . We all know that already.
Where did I lie? I am always open to an intelligent counter argument. The floor is yours.
Posts: 12143 | From: When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable | Registered: Jun 2007
| IP: Logged |
posted
Finally read the entire study. It is fascinating these people are allowed write and publish junk such as this. Besides being “nobodies”, no geneticist of any stature penned their names to this. I now know why. How can they write, quote and citing such outdated stuff. They are citing studies over a decade old and have long been debunked.
It is amazing they don’t cite more recent stuff. Over the last 3 years so much has changed. So much has been corrected. So much speculations have been resolved. I wonder if they deliberately do NOT read more recent studies before they write their paper and publish.
There is little new information obtained from the paper. In fact there is really no new dataset. Just speculations and innuendos about old datasets and studies.
The only new thing that hit me after reading the paper is that the Neolithics entering Europe were not a “strict” continuum. E-M78-V13 occupied South and East Europe. While E-M81-?? Seem localized to Iberia/Western Europe. So the Greeks, Macedonians, Albanians are more descendants of East Africans. But the Iberians and other Westerners of Europe although also Neolithic African descendants but more related to Maghrebians. Keeping in mind ALL are PN2 Africans.
See chart above.
I will try to dig up the study that shows the sub-clade of hg-E –M81 that predominates in Western Europe. More proof the Greeks were related to East Africans and Egyptians and other SSA groups and not Maghrebian Africans.
See AMRTU – That is what high resolution analysis can shed light on. This is the technology(NGS) resolving issues. Anything to add?
Oh! We know the Amarnas and Rameses III were SSA Africans. No one is disputing that!
Posts: 12143 | From: When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable | Registered: Jun 2007
| IP: Logged |
posted
To me the case for hg J originating in Africa seems very poor at this point. Its 2 subclades, J1 and J2, are from the eastern Anatolia/Caucasus region and the fertile crescent, respectively. This is due to these areas having the highest diversity and frequency of the oldest clades. Plus, these regions are adjacent to each other so it would make sense that the parent of the 2 subclades is from somewhere near these regions (I would favor the Caucasus).
Africa has high frequency and diversity of J1 but the same cannot be said for j2 there. This again casts doubt on hg-J being African.
Socotra (in Yemen) off the coast of Africa has the highest frequency of J* so far but that’s not a fair comparison because one is comparing frequency in a tiny area (a small island) with frequency in nations. If we were to limit our geography to small parts of certain nations we may get very high frequency results also. This just smells like a case of founder effect on Socotra.
In fact, J* has been found from SE Europe in the east to China (among Uygurs) in the West. So J* is pretty widespread. The E Anatolia/Caucasus region is geographically between these 2 extreme points and it can easily be envisioned how J* (and its sub clades) spread from there (or somewhere near there) to aforementioned extreme geographic points.
Then if we go back farther than J* to its parent IJ--that has only been found in a few Iranian men according to Djehuti. Iran is adjacent the fertile crescent and not far from the caucasus with whom it shares many other genes in common.
Posts: 214 | Registered: Oct 2011
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by xyyman: Your are not the shifty DJ, so I will be nice, although DJ made some valid points above. I like you ….So…AMRTU…..where did I lie? And please no citing of outdated or out of context or off-topic quotes. Eg about “all SSA from East to West in Africa are siblings” . We all know that already.
Where did I lie? I am always open to an intelligent counter argument. The floor is yours.
And exactly how am I "shifty"?? Because I question your faulty interpretation of some data?? Also, don't even bother with AMRTU, he's as nutty as you are-- making false accusation of other poster being liars and attributing claims to them they never made. This is like you and accusing me of being a "Hindu" even though I don't know what religion has anything to do with what we discuss.
Posts: 26348 | From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA | Registered: Feb 2005
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by Troll Patrol # Ish Gebor: Thus far I have analyzed, J1 emerged at the Sinai. Which is part of Northeast Africa. AS can be seen about by Africurious.
The info Djehuti speak of, I am not familiar with.
You guys are debating about the origins of J1, yet both J1 and J2 descend from original J* which as I said is found in its highest frequency and diversity in Soqotra Island and second to that around the coastal areas of Yemen and Somalia.
J* along with its sibling I* arose from IJ which has so far been discovered in Iran. Here is a study that talks about IJ:
quote:Originally posted by Troll Patrol # Ish Gebor: Thus far I have analyzed, J1 emerged at the Sinai. Which is part of Northeast Africa. AS can be seen about by Africurious.
The info Djehuti speak of, I am not familiar with.
You guys are debating about the origins of J1, yet both J1 and J2 descend from original J* which as I said is found in its highest frequency and diversity in Soqotra Island and second to that around the coastal areas of Yemen and Somalia.
J* along with its sibling I* arose from IJ which has so far been discovered in Iran. Here is a study that talks about IJ:
This is basically the only study done on them, from what I know.
Am J Phys Anthropol. 2009 Apr;138(4):439-47. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.20960.
Out of Arabia-the settlement of island Soqotra as revealed by mitochondrial and Y chromosome genetic diversity. Cerný V1, Pereira L, Kujanová M, Vasíková A, Hájek M, Morris M, Mulligan CJ.
The Soqotra archipelago is one of the most isolated landmasses in the world, situated at the mouth of the Gulf of Aden between the Horn of Africa and southern Arabia. The main island of Soqotra lies not far from the proposed southern migration route of anatomically modern humans out of Africa approximately 60,000 years ago (kya), suggesting the island may harbor traces of that first dispersal. Nothing is known about the timing and origin of the first Soqotri settlers. The oldest historical visitors to the island in the 15th century reported only the presence of an ancient population. We collected samples throughout the island and analyzed mitochondrial DNA and Y-chromosomal variation. We found little African influence among the indigenous people of the island. Although the island population likely experienced founder effects, links to the Arabian Peninsula or southwestern Asia can still be found. In comparison with datasets from neighboring regions, the Soqotri population shows evidence of long-term isolation and autochthonous evolution of several mitochondrial haplogroups. Specifically, we identified two high-frequency founder lineages that have not been detected in any other populations and classified them as a new R0a1a1 subclade. Recent expansion of the novel lineages is consistent with a Holocene settlement of the island approximately 6 kya.
Posts: 22245 | From: האם אינכם כילדי הכרית אלי בני ישראל | Registered: Nov 2010
| IP: Logged |
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
Printer-friendly view of this topic