Maximum-parsimony phylogenetic tree of complete mtDNA sequences belonging to haplogroup HV2.

<p>Designations are as in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0080673#pone-0080673-g003" target="_blank">Figure 3</a>.</p

Complete Mitochondrial DNA Diversity in Iranians

<div><p>Due to its pivotal geographical location and proximity to transcontinental migratory routes, Iran has played a key role in subsequent migrations, both prehistoric and historic, between Africa, Asia and Europe. To shed light on the genetic structure of the Iranian population as well as on the expansion patterns and population movements which affected this region, the complete mitochondrial genomes of 352 Iranians were obtained. All Iranian populations studied here exhibit similarly high diversity values comparable to the other groups from the Caucasus, Anatolia and Europe. The results of AMOVA and MDS analyses did not associate any regional and/or linguistic group of populations in the Anatolia/Caucasus and Iran region pointing to close genetic positions of Persians and Qashqais to each other and to Armenians, and Azeris from Iran to Georgians. By reconstructing the complete mtDNA phylogeny of haplogroups R2, N3, U1, U3, U5a1g, U7, H13, HV2, HV12, M5a and C5c we have found a previously unexplored genetic connection between the studied Iranian populations and the Arabian Peninsula, India, Near East and Europe, likely the result of both ancient and recent gene flow. Our results for Persians and Qashqais point to a continuous increase of the population sizes from ∼24 kya to the present, although the phase between 14-24 kya is thought to be hyperarid according to the Gulf Oasis model. Since this would have affected hunter-gatherer ranges and mobility patterns and forced them to increasingly rely on coastal resources, this transition can explain the human expansion across the Persian Gulf region.</p></div

Maximum-parsimony phylogenetic tree of complete mtDNA sequences belonging to haplogroup N3.

<p>Designations are as in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0080673#pone-0080673-g003" target="_blank">Figure 3</a>.</p

Maximum-parsimony phylogenetic tree of complete mtDNA sequences belonging to haplogroup R2.

<p>Numbers along links refer to substitutions scored relative to rCRS <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0080673#pone.0080673-Andrews1" target="_blank">[42]</a>. Transversions are further specified; ins and del denote insertions and deletions of nucleotides, respectively; back mutations are underlined; symbol < denotes parallel mutation. Iranian samples labeled as in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0080673#pone.0080673.s005" target="_blank">Table S1</a>, for published data the accession number in indicated. The box containing the sample ID is color coded according to the geographic origin of the sample. Time estimates (in kya) shown along links next to clade labels are based on the complete mtDNA genome clock (marked in blue) and the synonymous clock (marked in green) <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0080673#pone.0080673-Soares2" target="_blank">[47]</a>. Established haplogroup labels are shown in black; blue are redefined and red are newly identified haplogroups in the present study.</p

Mitochondrial haplogroup frequencies (%) in Iranian populations.

<p>Mitochondrial haplogroup frequencies (%) in Iranian populations.</p

BSP indicating the median of the hypothetical effective population size through time based on complete mtDNA genome data for Persians, Qashqais and Azeris.

<p>Maximum time (x axis) corresponds to the median posterior estimate of the genealogy root-height.</p

MDS plot based on Fst statistics calculated from complete mtDNA sequences for population samples from Iran, Anatolia, Caucasus, and Europe.

<p>The populations from <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0080673#pone.0080673-Schnberg1" target="_blank">[40]</a> labeled with “S” after underscore.</p

Diversity indices and neutrality test values for Iranian populations based on complete mtDNA sequences.

<p>Diversity indices and neutrality test values for Iranian populations based on complete mtDNA sequences.</p

Geographic position of Belarus within Europe.

<p>Map of Belarus demonstrating the six geographic sub-regions studied is shown on the right. Numbers 1–19 correspond to the location of sampling points (<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0066499#pone.0066499.s006" target="_blank">Table S1</a>). Lit – Lithuania, Lat – Latvia, Est – Estonia.</p

Phylogeny of NRY haplogroups and their relative frequencies in Belarusians.

<p>Haplogroup-defining biallelic markers are in parentheses. Belarusian sub-populations are designated as BeN – North, BeC – Centre, BeE – East, BeW – West, BeWP – West Polesie, BeEP – East Polesie. Sample sizes and absolute frequencies are also given.</p