Multiple Origins of Ashkenazi Levites: Y Chromosome Evidence for Both Near Eastern and European Ancestries

Behar, Doron M.; Thomas, Mark G.; Skorecki, Karl; Hammer, Michael F.; Булыгина, Е. С.; Rosengarten, Dror; Jones, A.; Held, Karen; Moses, V.; Goldstein, David B.; Bradman, Neil; Weale, Michael E.

doi:10.1086/378506

Cited by 87 publications

(107 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…5,7 Our present study demonstrates that R-M17 is a distinctive feature of the Ashkenazim in general and not only of Levites, as reported previously. 6 Furthermore, we provide evidence for a founder effect of this haplogroup in Ashkenazim, dated to the first millennium CE.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 74%

Y chromosome evidence for a founder effect in Ashkenazi Jews

et al. 2004

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Recent genetic studies, based on Y chromosome polymorphic markers, showed that Ashkenazi Jews are more closely related to other Jewish and Middle Eastern groups than to their host populations in Europe. However, Ashkenazim have an elevated frequency of R-M17, the dominant Y chromosome haplogroup in Eastern Europeans, suggesting possible gene flow. In the present study of 495 Y chromosomes of Ashkenazim, 57 (11.5%) were found to belong to R-M17. Detailed analyses of haplotype structure, diversity and geographic distribution suggest a founder effect for this haplogroup, introduced at an early stage into the evolving Ashkenazi community in Europe. R-M17 chromosomes in Ashkenazim may represent vestiges of the mysterious Khazars.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 74%

Y chromosome evidence for a founder effect in Ashkenazi Jews

et al. 2004

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“…15,16 This approach requires the definition of a founder haplotype, and ASD is then calculated between all chromosomes in the cluster and the founder one. The founder haplotype of each cluster was calculated using the most common allele of each STR marker.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The relationship between surname frequency and Y chromosome variation in Spain

et al. 2015

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In most societies, surnames are passed down from fathers to sons, just like the Y chromosome. It follows that, theoretically, men sharing the same surnames would also be expected to share related Y chromosomes. Previous investigations have explored such relationships, but so far, the only detailed studies that have been conducted are on samples from the British Isles. In order to provide additional insights into the correlation between surnames and Y chromosomes, we focused on the Spanish population by analysing Y chromosomes from 2121 male volunteers representing 37 surnames. The results suggest that the degree of coancestry within Spanish surnames is highly dependent on surname frequency, in overall agreement with British but not Irish surname studies. Furthermore, a reanalysis of comparative data for all three populations showed that Irish surnames have much greater and older surname descent clusters than Spanish and British ones, suggesting that Irish surnames may have considerably earlier origins than Spanish or British ones. Overall, despite closer geographical ties between Ireland and Britain, our analysis points to substantial similarities in surname origin and development between Britain and Spain, while possibly hinting at unique demographic or social events shaping Irish surname foundation and development.

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“…26 The mutation rate used is the average of rates taken from Gusmão et al 27 for DYS460 and from the Y Chromosome Haplotype Reference Database (YHRD, http://www.yhrd.org) for the other microsatellites.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%