Pattern of mtDNA variation in three populations from Sao Tome e Principe

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2004

Authors

Trovoada, MJ (Author) Other; Pereira, L (Author) Other; Gusmao, L (Author) Other; Abade, A (Author) Other; Amorim, A (Author) FCUP; Prata, MJ (Author) FCUP

Journal

Title: Annals of Human Genetics

Vol. 68

Pages: 40-54

ISSN: 0003-4800

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 28 Citations

Scopus - 31 Citations

Scientific classification

FOS: Natural sciences > Earth and related Environmental sciences

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-000-C93

DOI: 10.1046/j.1529-8817.2003.00070.x

Abstract (EN): We have analysed the matrilineal genetic composition of three self-reported ethnic groups from Sao Tome e Principe (Gulf of Guinea), an African archipelago whose settlement begun in the late fifteenth century. Sequence data from the hypervariable segments I (HVS-I) and 11 (HVS-II) were obtained for 30 Angolares, 35 Forros and 38 Tongas. The repertory of mtDNA lineages in Sao Tome e Principe denoted a fully African maternal pool, primarily arisen from a Central/Southwestern substratum. The absence of any lineages of putative European descent means that the European impact at the mitochondrial pool was virtually nil. Angolares showed a clear reduction of mtDNA diversity and a slight genetic differentiation relative to Tongas or Forros, whereas the latter two groups did not present any signs of genetic boundaries between each other. The data obtained here reinforce the depiction of genetic substructuring in Sao Tome e Principe previously derived from Y-chromosome STRs. In addition, the crossing of mtDNA and Y-STR information led to the inference that the female mediated gene flow within the archipelago was less restricted than the male, a pattern that could be framed in the cultural traditions and socio-historical interactions among the groups.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 15