The influence of habitats on female mobility in Central and Western Africa inferred from human mitochondrial variation.

ABSTRACT:

Background

When studying the genetic structure of human populations, the role of cultural factors may be difficult to ascertain due to a lack of formal models. Linguistic diversity is a typical example of such a situation. Patrilocality, on the other hand, can be integrated into a biological framework, allowing the formulation of explicit working hypotheses. The present study is based on the assumption that patrilocal traditions make the hypervariable region I of the mtDNA a valuable tool for the exploration of migratory dynamics, offering the opportunity to explore the relationships between genetic and linguistic diversity. We studied 85 Niger-Congo-speaking patrilocal populations that cover regions from Senegal to Central African Republic. A total of 4175 individuals were include

SUBMITTER: Montano V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3605107 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature