Founder lineages in the Iberian Roma mitogenomes recapitulate the Roma diaspora and show the effects of demographic bottlenecks.

ABSTRACT: The Roma are the largest ethnic minority in Europe. With a Northwestern Indian origin around ~ 1.5 kya, they travelled throughout West Asia until their arrival in Europe around the eleventh century CE. Their diaspora through Europe is characterized by population bottlenecks and founder events which have contributed to their present day genetic and cultural diversity. In our study, we focus on the effects of founder effects in the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) pool of Iberian Roma by producing and analyzing 144 novel whole mtDNA sequences of Iberian Roma. Over 60% of their mtDNA pool is composed by founder lineages of South Asian origin or acquired by gene flow during their diaspora in the Middle East or locally in Europe in Europe. The TMRCA of these lineages predates the historical record of

SUBMITTER: Aizpurua-Iraola J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9636147 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature