Whole mitogenomes reveal that NW Africa has acted both as a source and a destination for multiple human movements.

ABSTRACT: Despite being enclosed between the Mediterranean Sea and the Sahara Desert, North Africa has been the scenario of multiple human migrations that have shaped the genetic structure of its present-day populations. Despite its richness, North Africa remains underrepresented in genomic studies. To overcome this, we have sequenced and analyzed 264 mitogenomes from the Algerian Chaoui-speaking Imazighen (a.k.a. Berbers) living in the Aurès region. The maternal genetic composition of the Aurès is similar to Arab populations in the region, dominated by West Eurasian lineages with a moderate presence of M1/U6 North African and L sub-Saharan lineages. When focusing on the time and geographic origin of the North African specific clades within the non-autochthonous haplogroups, different geographical n

SUBMITTER: Aizpurua-Iraola J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10300034 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature