Weale et al. (2001)

From Haplowiki

Weale et al. (2001)

Armenian Y chromosome haplotypes reveal strong regional structure within a single ethno-national group

Hum Genet (2001) 109 :659–674 DOI 10.1007/s00439-001-0627-9

Received: 14 September 2001 / Accepted: 14 September 2001 / Published online: 30 October 2001

http://dirkschweitzer.net/E3b-papers/Weale-HG-01-659-Armenia-y-haplogroups.pdf

Authors

M.E. Weale (✉) · R.F. Jager · O. Burbage-Hall · N. Bradman · M.G. Thomas Centre for Genetic Anthropology, Departments of Biology and Anthropology, University College London, University of London, Darwin Bdg, Gower St, London WC1E 6BT, UK e-mail: m.weale@ucl.ac.uk, Tel.: +44-207-4043040, Fax: +44-207-4042081 L. Yepiskoposyan · N. Hovhannisyan · A. Khudoyan Institute of Man, Yerevan, Armenia R.F. Jager Faculteit Biologie, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Abstract

Abstract Armenia has been little-studied genetically, even though it is situated in an important area with respect to theories of ancient Middle Eastern population expansion and the spread of Indo-European languages. We screened 734 Armenian males for 11 biallelic and 6 microsatellite Y chromosome markers, segregated them according to paternal grandparental region of birth within or close to Armenia, and compared them with data from other population samples. We found significant regional stratification, on a level greater than that found in some comparisons between different ethno-national identities. A diasporan Armenian sub-sample (collected in London) was not sufficient to describe this stratified haplotype distribution adequately, warning against the use of such samples as surrogates for the non-diasporan population in future studies. The haplotype distribution and pattern of genetic distances suggest a high degree of genetic isolation in the mountainous southern and eastern regions, while in the northern, central and western regions there has been greater admixture with populations from neighbouring Middle Eastern countries. Georgia, to the north of Armenia, also appears genetically more distinct, suggesting that in the past Trans-Caucasia may have acted as a genetic barrier. A Bayesian full-likelihood analysis of the Armenian sample yields a mean estimate for the start of population growth of 4.8 thousand years ago (95% credible interval: 2.0–11.1), consistent with the onset of Neolithic farming. The more isolated southern and eastern regions have high frequencies of a microsatellite defined cluster within haplogroup 1 that is centred on a modal haplotype one step removed from the Atlantic Modal Haplotype, the centre of a cluster found at high frequencies in England, Friesland and Atlantic populations, and which may represent a remnant paternal signal of a Paleolithic migration event.

Data

Haplogroup 21 was tested for, meaning E(xE1b1a). The authors remarks about the non-Armenian data...

Here are the STR haplotypes for haplogroup 21, with regional percentages of that haplogroup shown below...

hp#	DYS19	DYS388	DYS390	DYS391	DYS392	DYS393	Ararat	North	Syunik	K’bakh	Iranian	West	Total	Total
218	13	12	24	10	11	13	0.0227	0.0106	0.0143	0.0047	0.0179	0.0222	0.0123	9
219	14	12	24	10	11	13	0.0227	0.0106	–	–	0.0179	–	0.0054	4
220	13	12	26	10	12	13	–	–	–	–	0.0714	–	0.0054	4
221	13	12	23	10	11	13	0.0227	0.0053	0.0071	0.0047	–	–	0.0054	4
222	12	12	24	10	11	13	–	0.0053	0.0071	0.0047	0.0179	–	0.0054	4
223	13	12	23	09	11	14	–	0.0159	–	–	–	–	0.0041	3
224	13	12	25	10	11	13	–	0.0106	–	–	–	–	0.0027	2
225	15	12	25	07	11	13	–	–	–	0.0047	–	–	0.0014	1
226	13	12	24	11	11	13	–	0.0053	–	–	–	–	0.0014	1
227	13	12	25	10	12	13	–	–	–	–	0.0179	–	0.0014	1
228	13	12	24	09	11	13	–	–	–	0.0047	–	–	0.0014	1
229	14	12	23	10	11	14	–	–	–	–	– 0.0111	0.0014	1
230	13	12	24	09	11	14	0.0227	–	–	–	–	–	0.0014	1
231	14	12	25	10	11	13	–	0.0053	–	–	–	–	0.0014	1
232	14	12	25	10	11	14	–	–	–	–	–	0.0111	0.0014	1
233	14	12	25	10	12	13	–	–	–	0.0047	–	–	0.0014	1
234	15	12	23	10	11	14	–	–	–	–	–	0.0111	0.0014	1
Total (hg21)							0.0909	0.0688	0.0286	0.0279	0.1429	0.0556	0.0545	40
							(n=44)	(n=189)	(n=140)	(n=215)	(n=56)	(n=90)	(n=734)

The authors state:

Samples were assigned to six regions according to paternal grandparental place of birth (Fig. 1): “Ararat”, the valley region surrounding the capital, Yerevan, to the east of the Aras river; “North”, northern Armenia plus three districts in southern Georgia (Bolnisi, Akhalkalaki and Akhaltsikhe) and one in northwestern Azerbaijan (around Gyanja); “Syunik”, a mountainous region of southern Armenia; “Karabakh”, a mountainous enclave within Azerbaijan; “Iranian”, within present-day Iran, believed to be mainly descendants of Armenians removed to Isfahan (central Iran) from Julfa (see Fig. 1) by Shah Abbas I in 1604 AD; “West”, the area of eastern Turkey historically part of Greater Armenia. All regions are or were historically areas with large ethnic Armenian populations.