The Genetic Genealogist

Artist Ulla Plougmand-Turner has created paintings of The Seven Daughters of Eve using paint that contains reconstructed ancient DNA manufactured by Oxford Ancestors.

Most genetic genealogists are very familiar with Bryan Sykes’ Seven Daughters of Eve, the 7 “clan mothers” (Ursula, Xenia, Helena, Velda, Tara, Katrine, and Jasmine) from whom the majority of Europeans are believed to obtain their mitochondrial DNA. Note that there are many more “clan mothers” located throughout the world – I, for instance, am descended from clan Aiyana.

The exhibition was commissioned by Professor Bryan Sykes, the head of Human Genetics at Oxford University and the founder of Oxford Ancestors. Prof. Sykes met Ms. Plougmand-Turner by chance when he was taking DNA samples from villagers at Longleat.

“Ulla happened to be visiting and so I also tested her. We discovered that we both descend from Tara. Our backgrounds are very different but we had an immediate rapport.

According to Ulla:

“It affected the texture of the paint. The mDNA spreads like strands of string. Brian had given particular colours to each goddess. I am Tara and my colour is burnt yellow, Jasmine is red and Velda a striking purple. We mixed each shade with the DNA from descendants of each clan mother. I was careful to use seven different sets of brushes so that the DNA in each picture would not be contaminated.

Here are a few of Ms. Plougmand-Turner’s “Daughters of Eve” paintings:

The Seven Daughters of Eve exhibition continues at Wolfson College, Oxford, until June 22. The paintings are not for sale as they will be displayed at the offices of Oxford Ancestors following the exhibition. Prints of the paintings are available from the Jennifer Gerard Gallery in Stert Street, Abingdon, or from the Gallery’s website.

There is more information at the BBC, the Telegraph, thisisoxfordshire, and the Oxford Times.

Thanks to John Hawks [through Hsien at EyeonDNA]!

In 2003, researchers from around the world released a paper that suggested that 8% of all Mongolian males have a common Y chromosome because they are the descendants of Genghis Khan (See “The Genetic Legacy of the Mongols,” 2003, Zerjal, et. al., American Journal of Human Genetics, 72: 717-721). The researchers examined the Y chromosome variability of over 2000 people from different regions in Asia and discovered a grouping of closely related lines. The cluster is believed to have originated about 1,000 years ago in Mongolia and its distribution coincides with the boundaries of the Mongol Empire.

Genghis Khan’s empire (he ruled from 1206 – 1227) stretched across Asia from the Pacific Ocean to the Caspian Sea and was reportedly extremely prolific. Khan’s son Tushi had as many as 40 sons. His grandson Kublai Khan is reported to have had as many as 22 sons, and perhaps many more. Together this family may have as many as 16 million descendants alive in Asia today. It is extremely important to note that until DNA can be extracted from Khan’s bones (which have never been found), there is no definitive proof that this Y chromosome cluster is actually descended from Genghis Khan.

When Family Tree DNA compared the markers in the paper to their database they determined that the Y chromosome cluster belongs to Haplogroup C3 (M217+). Forty-seven samples in their database exactly matched the markers identified in the paper. The company has summarized the marker results from the paper and have made that information freely available.

A newly released study from Russian scientists examined the Y chromosomes of 1,437 men from 18 Asian ethnic groups (Altai Kazakhs, Altai-Khizhis, Teleuts, Khakasses, Shor, Tuvinians, Todjins, Tofalars, Soyotes, Buryats, Khamnigans, Evenks, Mongolians, Kalmyks, Tajiks, Kurds, Persians and Russians). The researchers discovered that approximately 35% of Mongolians possess the “Khan” Y chromosome. Surprisingly, the results of the study suggest that although the Mongol Empire held eastern Russia for 250 years, there are few “Khan” Y chromosome carriers in that region.

You can read more about the 2007 study at UK Channel 4 or at Scientific Blogging.

Some scientists have hypothesized that Australian aboriginals received a portion of their DNA from an ancient hominid species called Homo erectus, which for a short time was contemporaneous with modern man. A recent study published in PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of the Sciences) set out to answer this question by analyzing mtDNA and Y-chromosome samples from aboriginals.

A total of 172 mtDNA and 522 Y-chromosome previously published and new sequences from aboriginal Australians and New Guineans were analyzed for mtDNA and Y-chromosome variation and were compared to the current world haplogroup tree. All of the mtDNA sequences were members of the M and N founder branches, and all of the Y-chromosome sequences fell into the C and F founder branches.

The results suggest that the Australian aboriginals are descendants of the same emigrant group that left Africa 50,000 to 70,000 years ago and populated Europe and Asia. At least from the small number of samples analyzed for this study, there does not seem to be any DNA contribution from Homo erectus.

The uniformity of the sequences suggests that once humans migrated into the region there was little other gene flow. This might explain why the Australian and New Guinean populations share phenotypic features that are unique to the region.

You can read more about this new study at National Geographic or NewScientist, or read the article online for free at PNAS. Additionally, Ron Scott at Scott Genealogy has provided a transcript (pdf) of an interview with Toomas Kivisild (one of the authors of the study and a name that many genetic genealogists will recognize).

How many founding Asian groups braved their way across the Bering land bridge during those frigid Pleistocene ice ages? Was it a single wave of people who later developed into the three distinct linguistic and cultural groups that populated the Americas, or were there multiple waves of people each with their own language and culture? Or was it some mix of the two? The issue has been and continues to be a topic of debate.

Linguistic studies of the Na-dene, Aleut-Eskimo, and Amerind language groups suggested that there were three waves across the land bridge, one for each language group. Recent genetic research, however, has suggested that there was only a single wave of founding groups into the Americas. (Read a free online review here).

Let’s assume, for the moment, that there was only a single wave of migration into the Americas over the Bering land bridge. The next obvious question might be, who was in that group? Like the previous question, this one can also be addressed with recent advances in genetic research, particularly the use of mitochondrial DNA. The current dogma (which in your opinion may or may not be struck down by today’s article) is that there were 5 founding haplogroups – A, B, C, D, and X. Indeed, the vast majority of Native Americans tested in modern times as well as ALL previous ancient remains have belonged to one of those five haplogroups.

A new study from a group of American and Canadian anthropologists has revealed the existence of sixth founding haplogroup in prehistoric Native Americans. DNA was extracted from the remains of two individuals found together in central British Columbia dated at 4950 +/- 170 years old and the haplogroup was analyzed through sequencing. Both individuals belonged to haplogroup M with the mutations 16093, 16213, and 16223. This is the first time that haplogroup M has been detected in Native American samples, either modern or prehistoric. Importantly, haplogroup M is found in Siberia, the source of the Native American’s ancestors.

What impact does this have on Native American studies? Together this study and another, discussed recently here on this blog, suggest that more than five haplogroups settled the Americas, and within each haplogroup there may have been more than a single haplotype. This could significantly reduce many of the estimates for the timing of the peopling of the Americas.