Genetic affinities of Ethiopian Jews

Three different types of genetic polymorphisms studied in Ethiopian Jews are reviewed and used in genetic distance analyses between them and several relevant populations. In classical markers Ethiopian Jews cluster with other Ethiopian tribes and occupy a central position on a principal component map between African and Asian populations. Analysis of mitochondrial DNA types and 5' beta-globin haplotypes portrays Ethiopian Jews in the same manner, and locates them between African and Caucasoid populations. Their genetic profile as mirrored through these genetic markers correlates with their geographic origin and reflects both Caucasoid and Negroid components in their gene pool.