A genome-wide study of modern-day Tuscans: revisiting Herodotus's theory on the origin of the Etruscans.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The origin of the Etruscan civilization (Etruria, Central Italy) is a long-standing subject of debate among scholars from different disciplines. The bulk of the information has been reconstructed from ancient texts and archaeological findings and, in the last few years, through the analysis of uniparental genetic markers.

Methods

By meta-analyzing genome-wide data from The 1000 Genomes Project and the literature, we were able to compare the genomic patterns (>540,000 SNPs) of present day Tuscans (N = 98) with other population groups from the main hypothetical source populations, namely, Europe and the Middle East.

Results

Admixture analysis indicates the presence of 25-34% of Middle Eastern component in modern Tuscans. Different analyses have been carried o

SUBMITTER: Pardo-Seco J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4167696 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature