BAMAD-86
Brit-Am Anthropology and DNA Update
14 February 2011, 10 Adar-Aleph 5771
Contents:
1. Puerto Rica and Genetics.
2. DNA Survey in Sweden.
(a) Orjan Svensson Report
(b) Swedish genes similar to Brits and Danes: study
3. DNA and Brit-Am Simplified.

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1. Puerto Rica and Genetics.


Relevance to Brit-Am:
Immigrants from  Puerto Rica are now an important ethnic group in the USA.
According to reports they have both negative and positive qualities.
The article below is of interest.
Salient features include: They overwhelmingly (98%) regard themselves as "Hispanic" and "white" (80%).
Their Native American ancestry is estimated as ca.15% but 61% in the matrilinear line.



History Shaped the Geographic Distribution of Genomic Admixture on the Island of Puerto Rico
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3
Adoi/10.1371/journal.pone.0016513'
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/EvolutionaryBiology+(PLoS+ONE+Alerts
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Extracts:
Contemporary genetic variation among Latin Americans human groups reflects population migrations shaped by complex historical, social and economic factors. Consequently, admixture patterns may vary by geographic regions ranging from countries to neighborhoods. ...Socioeconomic status (SES) data and geographic location were obtained for each individual. There was significant geographic variation of ancestry across the island. In particular, African ancestry demonstrated a decreasing East to West gradient that was partially explained by historical factors linked to the colonial sugar plantation system. SES also demonstrated a parallel decreasing cline from East to West. However, at a local level, SES and African ancestry were negatively correlated. European ancestry was strongly negatively correlated with African ancestry and therefore showed patterns complementary to African ancestry. By contrast, Native American ancestry showed little variation across the island and across individuals and appears to have played little social role historically.

Puerto Rico is an ideal venue to understand the impact of historical and social factors on modern genetic patterns. The island has a higher degree of tri-hybrid admixture than most countries in Latin America [14]. The number of indigenous Ta'os living in Puerto Rico at the moment of the first contact with Europeans has been estimated at 110,000 [15]. From that moment, Spanish settlers, mostly single men, began mating with Ta'o women. Through war, slavery and disease, the Ta'o population was drastically reduced. Consequently, African slaves were introduced as a source of labor. Like most of the Caribbean, the colonial economy in Puerto Rico was largely based on the sugar trade to Europe and other markets, and slave plantations were concentrated in the important sugar-producing areas. In turn, manufactured products from these areas were used to purchase new slaves in different parts of Africa and in other American colonies [16], [17]. Today, almost all modern Puerto Ricans are admixed descendents of the three ancestral populations (Ta'os, Europeans, and Africans). However, current social perceptions and administrative classifications fail to capture this complexity: in the 2000 U.S. census only 4.2% of Puerto Ricans self-identified as 'two or more races', and 95.8% self-categorized into a single 'race', including 'white' (80.5%), 'black or African American' (8.0%), 'some other race' (6.8%) and 'American Indian or Alaskan Native' (0.4%) [18]. 98.8% considered themselves Hispanic or Latino.

Variation in ancestry within a population has social implications and has often been the basis for discrimination and socioeconomic differences across Latin America [19]. Dominance by European descendents has been inherited from colonial times, resulting in lower wages and less education for people with African or Native American appearance [13], [20], [21]. These social differences also impact health and disease risk. In Puerto Rico, we have described complex interactions between social factors, genetic ancestry and risk for disease [22]. Genetic ancestry confers opposite risks for asthma among Puerto Ricans in low versus high socioeconomic groups. The relative importance of genetic ancestry and social factors in health and disease is still controversial, and likely involves interactions between both elements [23], [24]. Thus, the examination of the interaction between genetic ancestry and social factors is imperative.

...Average ancestry values for the Puerto Rican population were 15.2% ('7.2), 21.2% ('14.4), and 63.7% ('15.2) for the Native American, African, and European contributions, respectively (Table 1). As previously shown for other Latin American populations, extensive variation among individuals was observed (Figure 1B) especially in the European and African components. Overall, these ancestral components showed greater variances than the Native American component.

With the exception of a gold rush in the first decades of colonization, the economy of Puerto Rico primarily consisted of large-scale sugar production in a process similar to most of the Caribbean islands at that time [27], [28]. This triggered the importation of African slaves and their descendents continued in the industry after the abolition of slavery in 1873. Thus, the location of sugar mills and sugar production variables explain a substantial proportion of the differences in African ancestry observed in present day Puerto Rico. These factors also result in an East to West gradient in the proportion of African ancestry that has been previously described for mtDNA information [29]. Sugarcane plantations were mostly located in coastal lowlands, which may explain why African ancestry decreases with distance from the coast.

The Spanish colony that imported Africans as forced labor also established a social structure to preserve the status quo of a European-descent ruling class. The African and African-admixed classes were kept in a subservient position, whether slave or free, and social class endogamy was enforced by formal laws that prevented 'unequal' marriages [30]. Effects of this social stratification have led to a genetic and social structure, which continues to exist in current generations of Puerto Ricans. Recently, we detected assortative mating based on African/European ancestry among Puerto Ricans living in the island and in the mainland U.S. [12]. Here, we demonstrated that African ancestry is associated with lower SES, reinforcing the evidence that social perception influences not only social interactions and mating choice but also social position and class within society [20], [21]. In addition, socioeconomic status is independently influenced by geography, with differences between and within regions in a pattern that is actually similar to the African ancestry cline.

...The fact that average Native American ancestry among Puerto Ricans is not much less than average African ancestry yet shows a much smaller variance among individuals reinforces the far more significant social role of African ancestry compared to Native American ancestry in this population. In contrast, in other Latin American countries Native American ancestry plays a key role in all these social processes [12], [33].

Another important observation is the sex-biased admixture in Puerto Rico. In a previous article using this same census-based sample, we reported that mtDNA lineages were 61.3% Native American, 27.2% African, and 11.5% European [29]. This distribution demonstrates an excess of ancestry contribution from European males and Native American females. This is a common feature in the ancestral gene pool of Latin American populations [9], [34]. Interestingly we did not observe a substantial bias for the African ancestry.


2. New DNA Survey in Sweden
(a) Orjan Svensson Report
From: Orjan Svensson <o_svensson@yahoo.com>
Subject: Swedish Population Substructure Revealed by Genome-Wide Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Data

Shalom, Some quotes from a new article at
http://www.plosone.org/article/
info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fj
ournal.pone.0016747
"The Swedes - especially southern Swedes - were genetically close to the Germans and British, while their genetic distance to Finns was substantially longer. The overall structure within Sweden appeared clinal, and the substructure in the southern and middle parts was subtle. In contrast, the northern part of Sweden, Norrland, exhibited pronounced genetic differences both within the area and relative to the rest of the country. These distinctive genetic features of Norrland probably result mainly from isolation by distance and genetic drift caused by low population density. " "Studies of ancient DNA have shown a genetic discontinuity between the Neolithic inhabitants of the southern part of Sweden (ca. 3000 BC) and the current Swedish population" Regards, Orjan

(b) Swedish genes similar to Brits and Danes: study
 http://www.thelocal.se/31986/20110211/

Swedes have a similar genetic make up to the Danes and the British, although variations between those living in the south and the north of the country are greater than once thought, a new study shows.

An extensive genetic survey of researchers in Sweden and Finland shows clear variations between different parts of the country and indicates that Swedes are closer to Brits and Danes genetically than to Finland.

The significant differences between Swedes and neighbouring Finns has surprised researchers, as Finland and Sweden were united for several hundred years.

"It is both strange and interesting that the genes are so linked to language. It may be that if we speak different languages, you are less likely to jump into bed with one another," said Per Hall, Professor at Karolinska Institute, and one of the researchers behind the study.

He believes that the results may have important medical implications as genetic differences, such as those between populations in northern and southern Sweden, can often explain the prevalence of certain diseases.

"Stomach cancer is for example very common in the north. It may be due to genetic factors, because lifestyle differences in Sweden are not really very significant," Hall said.

The study compared the genetic make up of a total of 1500 persons of Swedish origin, with just over 3000 people from other European countries.



3. DNA and Brit-Am Simplified.
A certain organization is offering an Israelite Tribes DNA testing.
What in simple non-technical terms is the situation regarding DNA and Brit-Am Findings?

Brit-Am Reply:

In very simplified terms:
For female (mtDNA) it is now agreed that environment determines the haplotype (i.e. DNA type).
Apart from that Jewish and European female DNA is more or less the same.
Jewish mtDNA types exist but only as subsets amongst major types prevalent in Europe.

For male (Y)DNA it is NOT agreed that environment plays an influence.
Brit-Am however believes that ultimately it will be seen that male DNA is also determined by environment.

Despite this it is also clear that both male and female DNA is transmitted by heredity.
The questions that will remain involve the relative rate of DNA change determined by environment versus inherited transmission.
By analogy I might have blue eyes because a brown eyed ancestor lived in a cold cloud covered area and somehow or other this caused his offspring to be blue-eyed wonders. From then on all their descendants had blue-eyes.
If you want to use blue-eyes to trace relationships you can go back all the way to the brown-eyed ancestor whose sperm made the switch. But how far back is that?

This makes it sound too simplified. In fact some kind of computation may be possible.

Present-day DNA findings as conventionally understood DO NOT necessarily contradict Brit-Am findings even though we disagree with them.

People claiming to show Israelite Tribes through DNA are not serious BUT if they nevertheless do make valid DNA tests then the results can be used in some cases to help show possible relationships with Jews and/or with other Israelite groups.

[ For instance, One of the sons of Yair Davidiy did a DNA test and the results make us part of the Neil clan in Northwest Ireland and Lowland Scotland. Additional information obtained after that suggests that this possibility may have something to it.]

So too, if you do a DNA test you may have useful results of interest BUT on the other hand, you might not.
It could be that the results will not tell you much.

Returning to the results for the son of Yair Davidiy as an example:
We are prepared to accept that our ancestors came from Northwest Ireland. The question is, Did everyone in Northwest Ireland with that DNA marker have the same ancestor or was there some kind of environmental influence that affected people of otherwise different origins in that area?
Assuming that we all came from the one ancestor this makes us part of the R1b haplogroup.
Was R1b the original haplogroup for all peoples of the world as we claim or did it evolve as the experts say?
See:
YDNA Reversed
Was the ADAM of DNA West European?
Were R1 and N The Forefathers?
http://www.britam.org/DNA/YDNAreverse.html

Does this make us Israelites or non-Israelites?

DNA findings taking them at their face value would suggest:
The Japanese are closer to African Negroes than they are to Chinamen!
The Irish and most British are closer to Amerindians and Chinamen than they are to Scandinavians and Italians.
The white Berbers and many southern Europeans (e.g. many Greeks, many Jews, etc) are closer to Africans
than they are to their own neighbors and Italians!
See:
 http://www.britam.org/Questions/YDNA.html
In short,
DNA findings as they are without further clarification may be accepted only with difficulty.
Neither can they be rejected altogether.

Brit-Am does not hide anything. Our policy is to accept all research findings and deal with them at face value even if we feel they are mistaken.
This policy has enabled us on several occasions to achieve important research bereakthroughs.

Three main types of DNA testing exist.

yDNA shows the male ancestors all the way back.

mtDNA were assumed to show the maternal lineages but now are proven to be determined by environment.

autosomal DNA in principal reflects something of  the whole mixing of the past no matter where it comes from e.g. mother, father, mother of grandfather, etc.

See:
The Lost Ten Tribes and DNA
http://www.britam.org/DNAtentribes.html
 BRIT-AM DNA
 http://britam.org/dna.html



rose

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