Female gene pools of Berber and Arab neighboring communities in Central Tunisia: microstructure of mtDNA variation in North Africa

North African populations are considered genetically closer to Eurasians than to sub-Saharans. However, they display a considerably high mtDNA heterogeneity among them, namely in the frequencies of the U6, East African, and sub-Saharan haplogroups. In this study, we describe and compare the female gene pools of two neighboring Tunisian populations, Kesra (Berber) and Zriba (non-Berber), which have contrasting historical backgrounds. Both populations presented lower diversity values than those observed for other North African populations, and they were the only populations not showing significant negative Fu's Fs values. Kesra displayed a much higher proportion of typical sub-Saharan haplotypes (49%, including 4.2% of M1 haplogroup) than Zriba (8%). With respect to U6 sequences, frequencies were low (2% in Kesra and 8% in Zriba), and all belonged to the subhaplogroup U6a. An analysis of these data in the context of North Africa reveals that the emerging picture is complex, because Zriba would match the profile of a Berber Moroccan population, whereas Kesra, which shows twice the frequency of sub-Saharan lineages normally observed in northern coastal populations, would match a western Sanaran population except for the low U6 frequency. The North African patchy mtDNA landscape has no parallel in other regions of the world and increasing the number of sampled populations has not been accompanied by any substantial increase in our understanding of its phylogeography. Available data up to now rely on sampling small, scattered populations, although they are carefully characterized in terms of their ethnic, linguistic, and historical backgrounds. It is therefore doubtful that this picture truly represents the complex historical demography of the region rather than being just the result of the type of samplings performed so far.This study was supported by Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (Eixo 2, Medida 2.3 do POCTI, QCA III) and the Tunisian Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research, and Technology through project POCTI/ANT/45139/2002. L. Pereira received a research grant (SFRH/BPD/7121/2001) from Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia. The Instituto de Patologia e Imunologia Molecular of the Universidade do Porto (IPATIMUP) is financed by Programa Operacional Ciencia, Tecnologia e Inovacao (POCTI), Quadro Comunitario de Apoio III

Data for 15 autosomal STR markers (Powerplex 16 System) from two Tunisian populations: Kesra (Berber) and Zriba (Arab)

Allele frequencies, together with some parameters of forensic interest, for 15 STRs included in the Powerplex 16 System (CSF1PO, D3S1358, D5S818, D7S820, D8S1179, D13S317, D16S539, D18S51, D21S11, FGA, Penta D, Penta E, TH01, TPO and VWA) were estimated from two samples of unrelated individuals from Tunisia, of different ethnicity: Kesra (Berber) and Zriba (Arab). No deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium were observed after Bonferroni's correction for the number of loci analysed. Comparative analyses between our population data and other North African databases showed that significant differences were concentrated on loci with lowest values of diversity (mainly CSF1PO and D13S317), irrespective of ethnicity and geographic location.This work was partially supported by the Tunisian Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Technology. Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia conceded a research grant to L.P. (SFRH/BPD/7121/2001) and partially supports IPATIMUP by Programa Operacional Ciencia, Tecnologia e Inovacao (POCTI), Quadro Comunitario de Apoio III

Post-Last Glacial Maximum expansion from Iberia to North Africa revealed by fine characterization of mtDNA H haplogroup in Tunisia

The first large-scale fine characterization of Tunisian H lineages clarifies that the post-Last glacial maximum expansion originating in Iberia not only led to the resettlement of Europe but also of North Africa. We found that 46% of 81 Tunisian H lineages subscreened for 1,580 bp in mtDNA coding region were affiliated with H1 and H3 subhaplogroups, which are known to have originated in Iberia. Although no signs of local expansion were detected, which would allow a clear dating of their introduction, the younger and less diverse Tunisian H1 and H3 lineages indicate Iberia as the radiating centre. Major contributions from historical migrations to this Iberian genetic imprint in Tunisia were ruled out by the mtDNA gene pool similarity between Berber/Arab/cosmopolitan samples and some "Andalusian" communities, settled by the descendents of the "Moors" who once lived in Iberia for 10 centuries (between 8th and 17th centuries), before being expelled to Tunisia.Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia; Grant numbers: POCTI/ANT/45139/2002, PTDC/ANT/66275/2006, a BIPTDC/ANT/66275/2006, SFRH/BD/16518/2004; Grant sponsors: IPATIMUP (Programa Operacional Ciencia), Tecnologia e Inovacao (POCTI), Quadro Comunitario de Apoio III, GRICES (Gabinete de Relacoes Internacionais da Ciencia e do Ensino Superior), The Tunisian Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Technology

Population history of the Red Sea–genetic exchanges between the Arabian Peninsula and East Africa signaled in the mitochondrial DNA HV1 haplogroup

Archaeological studies have revealed cultural connections between the two sides of the Red Sea dating to prehistory. The issue has still not been properly addressed, however, by archaeogenetics. We focus our attention here on the mitochondrial haplogroup HV1 that is present in both the Arabian Peninsula and East Africa. The internal variation of 38 complete mitochondrial DNA sequences (20 of them presented here for the first time) affiliated into this haplogroup testify to its emergence during the late glacial maximum, most probably in the Near East, with subsequent dispersion via population expansions when climatic conditions improved. Detailed phylogeography of HV1 sequences shows that more recent demographic upheavals likely contributed to their spread from West Arabia to East Africa, a finding concordant with archaeological records suggesting intensive maritime trade in the Red Sea from the sixth millennium BC onwards. Closer genetic exchanges are apparent between the Horn of Africa and Yemen, while Egyptian HV1 haplotypes seem to be more similar to the Near Eastern ones.Ministry of Education of the Czech Republic, Grant number: KONTAKT ME 917; the Council of American Overseas Research Centers; the American Institute for Yemeni Studies; the Portuguese Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (project - PTDC/ANT/66275/2006; post-doc grant - SFRH/BPD/64233/2009; PhD grant - SFRH/BD/61342/2009); IPATIMUP is an Associate Laboratory of the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education, and is partially supported by FCT; the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology

Internal diversification of mitochondrial haplogroup R0a reveals post-Last Glacial Maximum demographic expansions in South Arabia

Widespread interest in the first successful Out of Africa dispersal of modern humans ∼60-80 thousand years ago via a southern migration route has overshadowed the study of later periods of South Arabian prehistory. In this work, we show that the post-Last Glacial Maximum period of the past 20,000 years, during which climatic conditions were becoming more hospitable, has been a significant time in the formation of the extant genetic composition and population structure of this region. This conclusion is supported by the internal diversification displayed in the highly resolved phylogenetic tree of 89 whole mitochondrial genomes (71 being newly presented here) for haplogroup R0a-the most frequent and widespread haplogroup in Arabia. Additionally, two geographically specific clades (R0a1a1a and R0a2f1) have been identified in non-Arabic speaking peoples such as the Soqotri and Mahri living in the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula where a past refugium was identified by independent archaeological studies. Estimates of time to the most recent common ancestor of these lineages match the earliest archaeological evidence for seafaring activity in the peninsula in the sixth millennium BC.This project was supported by the Fulbright-Masaryk Fellowship of V.C. at the Department of Anthropology, University of Florida, the Ministry of Education of the Czech Republic, Grant number: KONTAKT ME 917, the Council of American Overseas Research Centers, the American Institute for Yemeni Studies, and the Portuguese Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (PTDC/ANT/66275/2006) (L.P.), (Instituto de Patologia e Imunologia Molecular da Universidade do Porto is an Associate Laboratory of the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education and is partially supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, FCT). This research was also supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation to C.J.M. (BSR-0518530)