Introducing the Algerian Mitochondrial DNA and Y- Chromosome Profiles Into the North African Landscape
Introducing the Algerian Mitochondrial DNA and Y- Chromosome Profiles into the North African Landscape Asmahan Bekada1, Rosa Fregel2,3,4, Vicente M. Cabrera2, Jose´ M. Larruga2, Jose´ Pestano3,4, Soraya Benhamamouch1, Ana M. Gonza´lez2* 1 Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Oran, Oran, Algeria, 2 Department of Genetics, Faculty of Biology, University of La Laguna, La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain, 3 Department of Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Gran Canaria, Spain, 4 Forensic Genetics Laboratory, Institute of Legal Medicine of Las Palmas, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Gran Canaria, Spain Abstract North Africa is considered a distinct geographic and ethnic entity within Africa. Although modern humans originated in this Continent, studies of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and Y-chromosome genealogical markers provide evidence that the North African gene pool has been shaped by the back-migration of several Eurasian lineages in Paleolithic and Neolithic times. More recent influences from sub-Saharan Africa and Mediterranean Europe are also evident. The presence of East- West and North-South haplogroup frequency gradients strongly reinforces the genetic complexity of this region. However, this genetic scenario is beset with a notable gap, which is the lack of consistent information for Algeria, the largest country in the Maghreb. To fill this gap, we analyzed a sample of 240 unrelated subjects from a northwest Algeria cosmopolitan population using mtDNA sequences and Y-chromosome biallelic polymorphisms, focusing on the fine dissection of haplogroups E and R, which are the most prevalent in North Africa and Europe respectively.
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