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Published on: March 13, 2011
Low-pass DNA sequencing of 1200 Sardinians reconstructs European Y-chromosome phylogeny
Paolo Francalacci1, Laura Morelli, Andrea Angius
1Dipartimento di Scienze della Natura e del Territorio, Università di Sassari, Sassari, Italy. pfrancalacci@uniss.it
Abstract:
Genetic variation within the male-specific portion of the Y chromosome (MSY) can clarify the origins of contemporary populations, but previous studies were hampered by partial genetic information. Population sequencing of 1204 Sardinian males identified 11,763 MSY single-nucleotide polymorphisms, 6751 of which have not previously been observed. We constructed a MSY phylogenetic tree containing all main haplogroups found in Europe, along with many Sardinian-specific lineage clusters within each haplogroup. The tree was calibrated with archaeological data from the initial expansion of the Sardinian population ~7700 years ago. The ages of nodes highlight different genetic strata in Sardinia and reveal the presumptive timing of coalescence with other human populations. We calculate a putative age for coalescence of ~180,000 to 200,000 years ago, which is consistent with previous mitochondrial DNA-based estimates.
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