Distinctive genetic signatures in the Libyan Jews

Noah A. Rosenberg*, Eilon Woolf, Jonathan K. Pritchard, Tamar Schaap, Dov Gefel, Isaac Shpirer, Uri Lavi, Batsheva Bonné-Tamir, Jossi Hillel, Marcus W. Feldman

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

37 Scopus citations

Abstract

Unlinked autosomal microsatellites in six Jewish and two non-Jewish populations were genotyped, and the relationships among these populations were explored. Based on considerations of clustering, pairwise population differentiation, and genetic distance, we found that the Libyan Jewish group retains genetic signatures distinguishable from those of the other populations, in agreement with some historical records on the relative isolation of this community. Our methods also identified evidence of some similarity between Ethiopian and Yemenite Jews, reflecting possible migration in the Red Sea region. We suggest that high-resolution statistical methods that use individual multilocus geno-types may make it practical to distinguish related populations of extremely recent common ancestry.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)858-863
Number of pages6
JournalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume98
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - 30 Jan 2001

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