TY - JOUR
T1 - The genetic variation in the R1a clade among the Ashkenazi Levites' y chromosome
AU - Behar, Doron M.
AU - Saag, Lauri
AU - Karmin, Monika
AU - Gover, Meir G.
AU - Wexler, Jeffrey D.
AU - Sanchez, Luisa Fernanda
AU - Greenspan, Elliott
AU - Kushniarevich, Alena
AU - Davydenko, Oleg
AU - Sahakyan, Hovhannes
AU - Yepiskoposyan, Levon
AU - Boattini, Alessio
AU - Sarno, Stefania
AU - Pagani, Luca
AU - Carmi, Shai
AU - Tzur, Shay
AU - Metspalu, Ene
AU - Bormans, Concetta
AU - Skorecki, Karl
AU - Metspalu, Mait
AU - Rootsi, Siiri
AU - Villems, Richard
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 The Author(s).
PY - 2017/12/1
Y1 - 2017/12/1
N2 - Approximately 300,000 men around the globe self-identify as Ashkenazi Levites, of whom two thirds were previously shown to descend from a single male. The paucity of whole Y-chromosome sequences precluded conclusive identification of this ancestor's age, geographic origin and migration patterns. Here, we report the variation of 486 Y-chromosomes within the Ashkenazi and non-Ashkenazi Levite R1a clade, other Ashkenazi Jewish paternal lineages, as well as non-Levite Jewish and non-Jewish R1a samples. Cumulatively, the emerging profile is of a Middle Eastern ancestor, self-affiliating as Levite, and carrying the highly resolved R1a-Y2619 lineage, which was likely a minor haplogroup among the Hebrews. A star-like phylogeny, coalescing similarly to other Ashkenazi paternal lineages, ~1,743 ybp, suggests it to be one of the Ashkenazi paternal founders; to have expanded as part of the overall Ashkenazi demographic expansion, without special relation to the Levite affiliation; and to have subsequently spread to non-Ashkenazi Levites.
AB - Approximately 300,000 men around the globe self-identify as Ashkenazi Levites, of whom two thirds were previously shown to descend from a single male. The paucity of whole Y-chromosome sequences precluded conclusive identification of this ancestor's age, geographic origin and migration patterns. Here, we report the variation of 486 Y-chromosomes within the Ashkenazi and non-Ashkenazi Levite R1a clade, other Ashkenazi Jewish paternal lineages, as well as non-Levite Jewish and non-Jewish R1a samples. Cumulatively, the emerging profile is of a Middle Eastern ancestor, self-affiliating as Levite, and carrying the highly resolved R1a-Y2619 lineage, which was likely a minor haplogroup among the Hebrews. A star-like phylogeny, coalescing similarly to other Ashkenazi paternal lineages, ~1,743 ybp, suggests it to be one of the Ashkenazi paternal founders; to have expanded as part of the overall Ashkenazi demographic expansion, without special relation to the Levite affiliation; and to have subsequently spread to non-Ashkenazi Levites.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85032827264
U2 - 10.1038/s41598-017-14761-7
DO - 10.1038/s41598-017-14761-7
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C2 - 29097670
AN - SCOPUS:85032827264
SN - 2045-2322
VL - 7
JO - Scientific Reports
JF - Scientific Reports
IS - 1
M1 - 14969
ER -