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Mitochondrial haplogroup C4c: A rare lineage entering America through the ice‐free corridor?
Author(s) -
Kashani Baharak Hooshiar,
Perego Ugo A.,
Olivieri Anna,
Angerhofer Norman,
Gandini Francesca,
Carossa Valeria,
Lancioni Hovirag,
Semino Ornella,
Woodward Scott R.,
Achilli Alessandro,
Torroni Antonio
Publication year - 2012
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/ajpa.21614
Subject(s) - beringia , lineage (genetic) , mitochondrial dna , glacial period , ice sheet , last glacial maximum , ice age , haplogroup , evolutionary biology , geography , paleontology , biology , haplotype , oceanography , geology , genetics , gene , genotype
Recent analyses of mitochondrial genomes from Native Americans have brought the overall number of recognized maternal founding lineages from just four to a current count of 15. However, because of their relative low frequency, almost nothing is known for some of these lineages. This leaves a considerable void in understanding the events that led to the colonization of the Americas following the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). In this study, we identified and completely sequenced 14 mitochondrial DNAs belonging to one extremely rare Native American lineage known as haplogroup C4c. Its age and geographical distribution raise the possibility that C4c marked the Paleo‐Indian group(s) that entered North America from Beringia through the ice‐free corridor between the Laurentide and Cordilleran ice sheets. The similarities in ages andgeographical distributions for C4c and the previously analyzed X2a lineage provide support to the scenario of a dual origin for Paleo‐Indians. Taking into account that C4c is deeply rooted in the Asian portion of the mtDNA phylogeny and is indubitably of Asian origin, the finding that C4c and X2a are characterized by parallel genetic histories definitively dismisses the controversial hypothesis of an Atlantic glacial entry route into North America. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.