Signatures of the Preagricultural Peopling Processes in Sub-Saharan Africa as Revealed by the Phylogeography of Early Y Chromosome Lineages

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2011

Authors

Chiara Batini (Author) Other; Gianmarco Ferri (Author) Other; Giovanni Destro Bisol (Author) Other; Francesca Brisighelli (Author) Other; Donata Luiselli (Author) Other; Paula Sanchez Diz (Author) Other; Jorge Rocha (Author) FCUP; Tatum Simonson (Author) Other; Antonio Brehm (Author) Other; Valeria Montano (Author) Other; Nasr Eldin Elwali (Author) Other; Gabriella Spedini (Author) Other; Maria Eugenia D'Amato (Author) Other; Natalie Myres (Author) Other; Peter Ebbesen (Author) Other; David Comas (Author) Other; Cristian Capelli (Author) Other

Journal

Title: Molecular Biology and Evolution

Vol. 28

Pages: 2603-2613

ISSN: 0737-4038

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 45 Citations

Scopus - 46 Citations

Scientific classification

FOS: Natural sciences > Biological sciences

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-002-N85

DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msr089

Abstract (EN): The study of Y chromosome variation has helped reconstruct demographic events associated with the spread of languages, agriculture, and pastoralism in sub-Saharan Africa, but little attention has been given to the early history of the continent. In order to overcome this lack of knowledge, we carried out a phylogeographic analysis of haplogroups A and B in a broad data set of sub-Saharan populations. These two lineages are particularly suitable for this objective because they are the two most deeply rooted branches of the Y chromosome genealogy. Their distribution is almost exclusively restricted to sub-Saharan Africa where their frequency peaks at 65% in groups of foragers. The combined high-resolution single nucleotide polymorphism analysis with short tandem repeats variation of their subclades reveals strong geographic and population structure for both haplogroups. This has allowed us to identify specific lineages related to regional preagricultural dynamics in different areas of sub-Saharan Africa. In addition, we observed signatures of relatively recent contact, both among Pygmies and between them and Khoisan speaker groups from southern Africa, thus contributing to the understanding of the complex evolutionary relationships among African hunter-gatherers. Finally, by revising the phylogeography of the very early human Y chromosome lineages, we have obtained support for the role of southern Africa as a sink, rather than a source, of the first migrations of modern humans from eastern and central parts of the continent. These results open new perspectives on the early history of Homo sapiens in Africa, with particular attention to areas of the continent where human fossil remains and archaeological data are scant.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 11