Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 23, 2026

Primer Extension Capture: Targeted Sequence Retrieval from Heavily Degraded DNA Sources
Published on: September 3, 2009
Ancestral mitochondrial N lineage from the Neolithic 'green' Sahara
Stefania Vai1, Stefania Sarno2, Martina Lari1
1Department of Biology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
Abstract:
Because Africa's climate hampers DNA preservation, knowledge of its genetic variability is mainly restricted to modern samples, even though population genetics dynamics and back-migrations from Eurasia may have modified haplotype frequencies, masking ancient genetic scenarios. Thanks to improved methodologies, ancient genetic data for the African continent are now increasingly available, starting to fill in the gap. Here we present newly obtained mitochondrial genomes from two ~7000-year-old individuals from Takarkori rockshelter, Libya, representing the earliest and first genetic data for the Sahara region. These individuals carry a novel mutation motif linked to the haplogroup N root. Our result demonstrates the presence of an ancestral lineage of the N haplogroup in the Holocene "Green Sahara", associated to a Middle Pastoral (Neolithic) context.
Related Concept Videos
The Fossil Record
Animal Mitochondrial Genetics
Comparing Mitochondrial, Chloroplast, and Prokaryotic Genomes
Export of Mitochondrial and Chloroplast Genes
Synteny and Evolution
Around 80 million years ago, the human and mice lineages diverged from the common ancestor. During the course of evolution, the ancestral chromosome underwent...
Lineage Commitment

