The history of African gene flow into Southern Europeans, Levantines, and Jews.
Previous genetic studies have suggested a history of sub-Saharan African gene flow into some West Eurasian populations after the initial dispersal out of Africa that occurred at least 45,000 years ago. However, there has been no accurate characterization of the proportion of mixture, or of its date....
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2011-04-01
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| Series: | PLoS Genetics |
| Online Access: | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3080861?pdf=render |
| _version_ | 1818500410494681088 |
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| author | Priya Moorjani Nick Patterson Joel N Hirschhorn Alon Keinan Li Hao Gil Atzmon Edward Burns Harry Ostrer Alkes L Price David Reich |
| author_facet | Priya Moorjani Nick Patterson Joel N Hirschhorn Alon Keinan Li Hao Gil Atzmon Edward Burns Harry Ostrer Alkes L Price David Reich |
| author_sort | Priya Moorjani |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Previous genetic studies have suggested a history of sub-Saharan African gene flow into some West Eurasian populations after the initial dispersal out of Africa that occurred at least 45,000 years ago. However, there has been no accurate characterization of the proportion of mixture, or of its date. We analyze genome-wide polymorphism data from about 40 West Eurasian groups to show that almost all Southern Europeans have inherited 1%-3% African ancestry with an average mixture date of around 55 generations ago, consistent with North African gene flow at the end of the Roman Empire and subsequent Arab migrations. Levantine groups harbor 4%-15% African ancestry with an average mixture date of about 32 generations ago, consistent with close political, economic, and cultural links with Egypt in the late middle ages. We also detect 3%-5% sub-Saharan African ancestry in all eight of the diverse Jewish populations that we analyzed. For the Jewish admixture, we obtain an average estimated date of about 72 generations. This may reflect descent of these groups from a common ancestral population that already had some African ancestry prior to the Jewish Diasporas. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T20:42:23Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-adc71c8292c74ba291ce129196dfffd1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1553-7390 1553-7404 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T20:42:23Z |
| publishDate | 2011-04-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS Genetics |
| spelling | doaj.art-adc71c8292c74ba291ce129196dfffd12022-12-22T01:34:21ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS Genetics1553-73901553-74042011-04-0174e100137310.1371/journal.pgen.1001373The history of African gene flow into Southern Europeans, Levantines, and Jews.Priya MoorjaniNick PattersonJoel N HirschhornAlon KeinanLi HaoGil AtzmonEdward BurnsHarry OstrerAlkes L PriceDavid ReichPrevious genetic studies have suggested a history of sub-Saharan African gene flow into some West Eurasian populations after the initial dispersal out of Africa that occurred at least 45,000 years ago. However, there has been no accurate characterization of the proportion of mixture, or of its date. We analyze genome-wide polymorphism data from about 40 West Eurasian groups to show that almost all Southern Europeans have inherited 1%-3% African ancestry with an average mixture date of around 55 generations ago, consistent with North African gene flow at the end of the Roman Empire and subsequent Arab migrations. Levantine groups harbor 4%-15% African ancestry with an average mixture date of about 32 generations ago, consistent with close political, economic, and cultural links with Egypt in the late middle ages. We also detect 3%-5% sub-Saharan African ancestry in all eight of the diverse Jewish populations that we analyzed. For the Jewish admixture, we obtain an average estimated date of about 72 generations. This may reflect descent of these groups from a common ancestral population that already had some African ancestry prior to the Jewish Diasporas.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3080861?pdf=render |
| spellingShingle | Priya Moorjani Nick Patterson Joel N Hirschhorn Alon Keinan Li Hao Gil Atzmon Edward Burns Harry Ostrer Alkes L Price David Reich The history of African gene flow into Southern Europeans, Levantines, and Jews. PLoS Genetics |
| title | The history of African gene flow into Southern Europeans, Levantines, and Jews. |
| title_full | The history of African gene flow into Southern Europeans, Levantines, and Jews. |
| title_fullStr | The history of African gene flow into Southern Europeans, Levantines, and Jews. |
| title_full_unstemmed | The history of African gene flow into Southern Europeans, Levantines, and Jews. |
| title_short | The history of African gene flow into Southern Europeans, Levantines, and Jews. |
| title_sort | history of african gene flow into southern europeans levantines and jews |
| url | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3080861?pdf=render |
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