Sequences from first settlers reveal rapid evolution in Icelandic mtDNA pool.

ABSTRACT: A major task in human genetics is to understand the nature of the evolutionary processes that have shaped the gene pools of contemporary populations. Ancient DNA studies have great potential to shed light on the evolution of populations because they provide the opportunity to sample from the same population at different points in time. Here, we show that a sample of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region sequences from 68 early medieval Icelandic skeletal remains is more closely related to sequences from contemporary inhabitants of Scotland, Ireland, and Scandinavia than to those from the modern Icelandic population. Due to a faster rate of genetic drift in the Icelandic mtDNA pool during the last 1,100 years, the sequences carried by the first settlers were better preserved in their anc

SUBMITTER: Helgason A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2613751 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature