A substantial prehistoric European ancestry amongst Ashkenazi maternal lineages

Marta D. Costa, Joana B. Pereira, Maria Pala, Verónica Fernandes, Anna Olivieri, Alessandro Achilli, Ugo A. Perego, Sergei Rychkov, Oksana Naumova, Jiři Hatina, Scott R. Woodward, Ken Khong Eng, Vincent Macaulay, Martin Carr, Pedro Soares, Luísa Pereira and Martin B. Richards ()
Additional contact information
Marta D. Costa: Institute of Integrative and Comparative Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds
Joana B. Pereira: Institute of Integrative and Comparative Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds
Maria Pala: School of Applied Sciences, University of Huddersfield
Verónica Fernandes: Institute of Integrative and Comparative Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds
Anna Olivieri: Università di Pavia
Alessandro Achilli: Biologia e Biotecnologie, Università di Perugia
Ugo A. Perego: Università di Pavia
Sergei Rychkov: Vavilov Institute of General Genetics
Oksana Naumova: Vavilov Institute of General Genetics
Jiři Hatina: Charles University, Medical Faculty in Pilsen, Institute of Biology
Scott R. Woodward: Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation
Ken Khong Eng: Institute of Integrative and Comparative Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds
Vincent Macaulay: School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Glasgow
Martin Carr: School of Applied Sciences, University of Huddersfield
Pedro Soares: IPATIMUP (Instituto de Patologia e Imunologia Molecular da Universidade do Porto)
Luísa Pereira: IPATIMUP (Instituto de Patologia e Imunologia Molecular da Universidade do Porto)
Martin B. Richards: Institute of Integrative and Comparative Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds

Nature Communications, 2013, vol. 4, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract The origins of Ashkenazi Jews remain highly controversial. Like Judaism, mitochondrial DNA is passed along the maternal line. Its variation in the Ashkenazim is highly distinctive, with four major and numerous minor founders. However, due to their rarity in the general population, these founders have been difficult to trace to a source. Here we show that all four major founders, ~40% of Ashkenazi mtDNA variation, have ancestry in prehistoric Europe, rather than the Near East or Caucasus. Furthermore, most of the remaining minor founders share a similar deep European ancestry. Thus the great majority of Ashkenazi maternal lineages were not brought from the Levant, as commonly supposed, nor recruited in the Caucasus, as sometimes suggested, but assimilated within Europe. These results point to a significant role for the conversion of women in the formation of Ashkenazi communities, and provide the foundation for a detailed reconstruction of Ashkenazi genealogical history.

Date: 2013
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms3543

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