Y-chromosome lineages and surnames, two blurry trails

In societies following the paternal transmission of surnames, their distribution should keep the same trail as that of Y-chromosome lineages. We evaluated this hypothesis by establishing the Y-STR haplotypes of two hundred and thirty-two individuals from the Argentine Northwest, distributed among one hundred and forty-eight surnames. We compared these two sources of information, searching for matches within and through surnames, establishing Median-Joining networks and estimating their time of divergence. We defined two nodal haplotypes (Native American and European), surrounded by the rest. We found cases in which surnames matched Y-STR haplotypes and also recognized identical genetic lineages involving different surnames. These findings suggest that the irregular transmission of surnames in the Argentine Northwest has been higher than that found in other countries. Likewise, similarities between both kinds of lineages should not be taken for granted.