Abstract
Recent genetic studies, based on Y chromosome polymorphic markers, showed that Ashkenazi Jews are more closely related to other Jewish and Middle Eastern groups than to their host populations in Europe. However, Ashkenazim have an elevated frequency of R-M17, the dominant Y chromosome haplogroup in Eastern Europeans, suggesting possible gene flow. In the present study of 495 Y chromosomes of Ashkenazim, 57 (11.5%) were found to belong to R-M17. Detailed analyses of haplotype structure, diversity and geographic distribution suggest a founder effect for this haplogroup, introduced at an early stage into the evolving Ashkenazi community in Europe. R-M17 chromosomes in Ashkenazim may represent vestiges of the mysterious Khazars.
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Acknowledgements
We are grateful to Drs Ben Glaser, Deborah Rund, Avraham Shaag and Ms Ester Hyam for providing DNA samples of Ashkenazim. We thank Drs Silvana Santachiara-Benerecetti and Chris Tyler-Smith for sharing haplotype information on European populations. This work was supported by a research grant form the Israeli Ministry of Science, Culture and Sport to AO and MF, and jointly by the Medical Research Council of South Africa, the National Research Foundation, the National Health Laboratory Service and the University of the Witwatersrand to HS. AN was the recipient of the Hillel Friedland Postdoctoral Research Fellowship from the University of the Witwatersrand.
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Nebel, A., Filon, D., Faerman, M. et al. Y chromosome evidence for a founder effect in Ashkenazi Jews. Eur J Hum Genet 13, 388–391 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejhg.5201319
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejhg.5201319
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