Determining the timing, identity and direction of migrations in the Mediterranean Basin, the role of “migratory routes” in and among regions of Africa, Europe and Asia, and the effects of sex-specific behaviors of population movements have important implications for our understanding of the present human genetic diversity. A crucial component of the Mediterranean world is its westernmost region. Clear features of transcontinental ancient contacts between North African and Iberian populations surrounding the maritime region of Gibraltar Strait have been identified from archeological data. The attempt to discern origin and dates of migration between close geographically related regions has been a challenge in the field of uniparental-based population genetics. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) studies have been focused on surveying the H1, H3 and V lineages when trying to ascertain north-south migrations, and U6 and L in the opposite direction, assuming that those lineages are good proxies for the ancestry of each side of the Mediterranean. To this end, in the present work we have screened entire mtDNA sequences belonging to U6, M1 and L haplogroups in Andalusians—from Huelva and Granada provinces—and Moroccan Berbers. We present here pioneer data and interpretations on the role of NW Africa and the Iberian Peninsula regarding the time of origin, number of founders and expansion directions of these specific markers. The estimated entrance of the North African U6 lineages into Iberia at 10 ky correlates well with other L African clades, indicating that U6 and some L lineages moved together from Africa to Iberia in the Early Holocene. Still, founder analysis highlights that the high sharing of lineages between North Africa and Iberia results from a complex process continued through time, impairing simplistic interpretations. In particular, our work supports the existence of an ancient, frequently denied, bridge connecting the Maghreb and Andalusia.
Departamento de Zoología y Antropología Física, Facultad de Biología, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain;Instituto de Patologia e Imunologia Molecular da Universidade do Porto (IPATIMUP), Porto, Portugal;CBMA (Centre of Molecular and Environmental Biology), Department of Biology, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal;CNRS UMR 5288 Laboratoire d’Anthropologie Moléculaire et d’Imagerie de Synthèse (AMIS), Université Paul Sabatier Toulouse III, 31073 Toulouse, France;Dipartimento di Biologia, Università Tor Vergata di Rome, Rome, Italy;Servicio de Hematología, Hospital Juan Ramón Jiménez, Huelva, Spain;Instituto de Patologia e Imunologia Molecular da Universidade do Porto (IPATIMUP), Porto, Portugal;Instituto de Patologia e Imunologia Molecular da Universidade do Porto (IPATIMUP), Porto, Portugal;Faculté des Sciences, Université Mohammed Premier, Oujda, Morocco;Faculté des Sciences Semlalia de Marrakech (FSSM), Université Cadi Ayyad, Marrakech, Morocco;Instituto de Patologia e Imunologia Molecular da Universidade do Porto (IPATIMUP), Porto, Portugal;Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal;Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal;Departamento de Zoología y Antropología Física, Facultad de Biología, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain
Recommended Citation:
Candela L. Hernández,Pedro Soares,Jean M. Dugoujon,et al. Early Holocenic and Historic mtDNA African Signatures in the Iberian Peninsula: The Andalusian Region as a Paradigm[J]. PLOS ONE,2015-01-01,10(10)