BAMAD no.16
Brit-Am
DNA and
Anthropology Updates
Updates in DNA studies along with Anthropological Notes of general interest with a particular emphasis on points pertinent to the study of Ancient Israelite Ancestral Connections to Western Peoples as explained in Brit-Am studies.
Brit-Am
Research
Revelation
Reconciliation
BAMAD-16
Brit-Am Anthropology and DNA Update
4 Shebet 5768, 11 January 2008
Contents:
1. Crypto Jews and DNA
2. DNA Maps: Worldwide Distribution of
YDNA
and mtDNA
haplogroups
3. China experts identify drug addiction genes
4. Polynesians: A Mixture of Melanesian Males and East Asian Females?
5. Russians as Compared with Other Europeans
1. Crypto Jews and DNA
http://www.familytreedna.com/public/NuevoMexico/
2. DNA Maps: Worldwide Distribution
of YDNA
and mtDNA
haplogroups
http://www.scs.uiuc.edu/~mcdonald/WorldHaplogroupsMaps.pdf
These illustrations show the wordwide disturbution of Male (Y) and femalte
(mitochondria) DNA haplogroups together with diagrams showing the interrelationships of the
haplogroups to each other.
This is a very important and very useful URL.
We have mentioned it several times in the past but if you are like us you may
have forgotten to take note of it and then cannot find it when needed.
A simplified explanation of the Conventional Theory of Haplogroup Expansion
with Maps:
http://dnaheritage.com/masterclass2.asp
3. China experts identify drug
addiction genes
http://news.aol.com/story/_a/china-experts-identify-drug-addiction/n20080108015209990010?ecid=RSS0001
Extract:
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Scientists in China have identified about 400 genes that
appear to make some people more easily addicted to drugs, opening the way for
more effective therapies and addiction control.
Experts believe genetic factors account for up to 60 percent of a person's
vulnerability to drug addiction, with environmental factors accounting for the
remainder.
The researchers focused on four addictive substances -- cocaine, opiate, alcohol
and nicotine -- and mapped out five main routes, or "molecular pathways," that
lead to addiction, they wrote in the journal PLoS Computational Biology.
4. Polynesians: A Mixture of Melanesian
Males and East Asian Females?
Am J Hum Genet. 2008 Jan;82(1):194-8.
Genome-wide Analysis Indicates More Asian than Melanesian Ancestry of
Polynesians.
Kayser M, Lao O, Saar K, Brauer S, Wang X, N rnberg P, Trent RJ, Stoneking M.
Department of Forensic Molecular Biology, Erasmus University Medical Center
Rotterdam, PO Box 2040, 3000 CA Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Analyses of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and nonrecombining Y chromosome (NRY)
variation in the same populations are sometimes concordant but sometimes
discordant. Perhaps the most dramatic example known of the latter concerns
Polynesians, in which about 94% of Polynesian mtDNAs are of East Asian origin,
while
about 66% of Polynesian Y chromosomes are of Melanesian origin. Here we analyze
on a genome-wide scale, to our knowledge for the first time, the origins of
the autosomal gene pool of Polynesians by screening 377 autosomal short tandem
repeat (STR) loci in 47 Pacific Islanders and compare the results with those
obtained from 44 Chinese and 24 individuals from Papua New Guinea. Our data
indicate that on average about 79% of the Polynesian autosomal gene pool is of
East Asian origin and 21% is of Melanesian origin. The genetic data thus suggest
a dual origin of Polynesians with a high East Asian but also considerable
Melanesian component, reflecting sex-biased admixture in Polynesian history in
agreement with the Slow Boat model. More generally, these results also
demonstrate that conclusions based solely on uniparental markers, which are
frequently
used in population history studies, may not accurately reflect the history of
the autosomal gene pool of a population.
5. Russians as Compared with Other
Europeans
Russian Y chromosomes
http://dienekes.blogspot.com/
Extract:
While previous work on the Y chromosomes of Russians had established the main
conclusions (dominance of Y-haplogroup R1a, and a Finno-Ugrian N3 substratum),
this paper adds to our understanding by examining several ethnic Russian
populations and placing their variation within the larger Eurasian context.
An interesting multi-dimensional scaling plot from the paper. For each ethnic
group, the large disk indicates the entire group, while the smaller figures,
geographical subpopulations. This is an interesting way to present the
information, and shows clearly (a) the tight clustering of Slavic populations in
a large area from Poland to Russia and the Ukraine, and also the evidence of the
Russification of indigenous Finno-Ugrians (populations 1-4: Mezen, Pinega,
Krasnoborsk, Vologda).
Also of interest for students of Slavic origins, another recent article about
which I had blogged here. Note also the distance between all Greek
subpopulations, including Macedonian Greeks from the Slavic cluster which should
be read as further evidence contra the Fallmerayer thesis.
The Greek, Turkish, and Italian populations are well separated from the northern
and eastern European populations on the left side of the figure; Germans are
intermediate between southern Europeans and Swedes who tend to the Finns; like
the northern Russians, Swedes also have their own Finnish influence. Evident,
also, is the differentiation between Slavs and Germans, which had been noted
before.
Also of interest from the paper is the comparison of inter-ethnic variation
within European ethnic groups (also evident in the Figure):
Table 3 summarizes data on Y chromosomal intraethnic variation among Russians
and compares them with other ethnicities of Europe. The highest variation among
subpopulations is found for Finns, Croatians, Russians, and Italians (GST value
between 0.04 and 0.08); Swedes and Germans demonstrate moderate variation; other
ethnic groups (Greeks, Turks, Poles, Belorussians, and Ukrainians) exhibit
similar and lower level of regional variation (GST value approximately 0.01).
See also:
BAMAD Archives
DNA
DNA Refuted. The "Cohen Gene"
mtDNA
Y DNA
R1b The Western Japhet?? or not?
haplogroup I
Brit-Am DNA
THE PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY OF
THE HEBREW PEOPLES
Queries about Race
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