Further characteristics of proto-European y chromosomes

We examined a set of populations mainly from Europe but also from the Middle East and North Africa for the three Y-linked microsatellites YCAII, DYS19 (about 1300 individuals) and DYS392 (about 350 individuals). Three markers (YCAII a5-b1 Ht, DYS19-190 bp and DYS392-254 bp) show decreasing gradients of frequency from western Europe towards the Middle East which parallel that of the proto-European 49a,f/TaqI Ht 15. Indeed, a strong linkage disequilibrium between these markers and the 49a,f Ht15 is observed. We therefore suggest that the 49a,f/TaqI Ht15, YCAII a5-b1 Ht, DYS19-190 bp and DYS392-254 bp Y chromosome could represent a component of the proto-European gene pool. This European specific compound haplotype distinctively characterises western Europeans and its very high incidence in these populations (particularly in the Basques) is discussed.