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A Perspective on the History of the Iberian Gypsies Provided by Phylogeographic Analysis of Y‐Chromosome Lineages
Author(s) -
Gusmão A.,
Gusmão L.,
Gomes V.,
Alves C.,
Calafell F.,
Amorim A.,
Prata M. J.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
annals of human genetics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.537
H-Index - 77
eISSN - 1469-1809
pISSN - 0003-4800
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-1809.2007.00421.x
Subject(s) - portuguese , introgression , population , geography , ethnology , demography , peninsula , genealogy , phylogeography , gene pool , european population , ethnic group , population genetics , evolutionary biology , biology , history , genetics , anthropology , phylogenetics , sociology , genetic diversity , linguistics , archaeology , gene , philosophy
Summary The European Gypsies, commonly referred to as Roma, are represented by a vast number of groups spread across many countries. Although sharing a common origin, the Gypsy groups are highly heterogeneous as a consequence of genetic drift and different levels of admixture with surrounding populations. With this study we aimed at contributing to the knowledge of the Roma history by studying 17 Y‐STR and 34 Y‐SNP loci in a sample of 126 Portuguese Gypsies. Distinct genetic hallmarks of their past and migration route were detected, namely: an ancestral component, shared by all Roma groups, that reflects their origin in India (H1a‐M82; ∼17%); an influence from their long permanence in the Balkans/Middle‐East region (J2a1b‐M67, J2a1b1‐M92, I‐M170, Q‐M242; ∼31%); traces of contacts with European populations preceding the entrance in the Iberian Peninsula (R1b1c‐M269, J2b1a‐M241; ∼10%); and a high proportion of admixture with the non‐Gypsy population from Iberia (R1b1c‐M269, R1‐M173/del.M269, J2a‐M410, I1b1b‐M26, E3b1b‐M81; ∼37%). Among the Portuguese Gypsies the proportion of introgression from host populations is higher than observed in other groups, a fact which is somewhat unexpected since the arrival of the Roma to Portugal is documented to be more recent than in Central or East Europe.