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The founding mitochondrial DNA lineages of Tristan da Cunha Islanders
Author(s) -
Soodyall Himla,
Jenkins Trefor,
Mukherjee Arindam,
Du Toit Ernette,
Roberts Derek F.,
Stoneking Mark
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
american journal of physical anthropology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.146
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1096-8644
pISSN - 0002-9483
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1096-8644(199710)104:2<157::aid-ajpa2>3.0.co;2-w
Subject(s) - mitochondrial dna , extant taxon , biology , genetics , offspring , evolutionary biology , fidelity , genealogy , mutation , transmission (telecommunications) , gene , history , pregnancy , electrical engineering , engineering
Genealogical histories show that the inhabitants of Tristan da Cunha are derived from a known number of founders. Using the transmission of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from mother to offspring pairs, we traced the mtDNA types found in 161 extant individuals to five female founders. Although the historical data claimed that two pairs of sisters were among the founding females, mtDNA data showed support for only one pair of sisters. We also studied the fidelity of mtDNA transmission in conjunction with the genealogical data. We did not detect any mutations from 698 base pairs of sequence data from 75 individuals, which together accounted for 108 independent transmissions of mtDNA from mother to offspring. Based on this observation, we estimate that the mtDNA mutation rate is no more than one new mutation every 36 transmissions. These results indicate a high fidelity of maternal mtDNA transmission and support the utility of mtDNA in evolutionary and forensic studies. Am J Phys Anthropol 104:157–166, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.