Y-chromosome lineages from Portugal, Madeira and Açores record elements of sephardim and berber ancestry
A total of 553 Y-chromosomes were analyzed from mainland Portugal and the North Atlantic Archipelagos of Ac¸ores and Madeira, in order to characterize the genetic composition of their male gene pool. A large majority (78–83% of each population) of the male lineages could be classified as belonging t...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2005
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10400.13/3018 https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1529-8817.2005.00161.x |
| Summary: | A total of 553 Y-chromosomes were analyzed from mainland Portugal and the North Atlantic Archipelagos of Ac¸ores and Madeira, in order to characterize the genetic composition of their male gene pool. A large majority (78–83% of each population) of the male lineages could be classified as belonging to three basic Y chromosomal haplogroups, R1b, J, and E3b. While R1b, accounting for more than half of the lineages in any of the Portuguese subpopulations, is a characteristic marker of many different West European populations, haplogroups J and E3b consist of lineages that are typical of the circum-Mediterranean region or even East Africa. The highly diverse haplogroup E3b in Portuguese likely combines sub-clades of distinct origins. The present composition of the Y chromosomes in Portugal in this haplogroup likely reflects a pre-Arab component shared with North African populations or testifies, at least in part, to the influence of Sephardic Jews. In contrast to the marginally low sub-Saharan African Y chromosome component in Portuguese, such lineages have been detected at a moderately high frequency in our previous survey of mtDNA from the same samples, indicating the presence of sex-related gene flow, most likely mediated by the Atlantic slave trade. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion |
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