Busby George B J, Brisighelli Francesca, Sánchez-Diz Paula, Ramos-Luis Eva, Martinez-Cadenas Conrado, Thomas Mark G, Bradley Daniel G, Gusmão Leonor, Winney Bruce, Bodmer Walter, Vennemann Marielle, Coia Valentina, Scarnicci Francesca, Tofanelli Sergio, Vona Giuseppe, Ploski Rafal, Vecchiotti Carla, Zemunik Tatijana, Rudan Igor, Karachanak Sena, Toncheva Draga, Anagnostou Paolo, Ferri Gianmarco, Rapone Cesare, Hervig Tor, Moen Torolf, Wilson James F, Capelli Cristian
Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Proc Biol Sci. 2012 Mar 7;279(1730):884-92. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2011.1044. Epub 2011 Aug 24.
Recently, the debate on the origins of the major European Y chromosome haplogroup R1b1b2-M269 has reignited, and opinion has moved away from Palaeolithic origins to the notion of a younger Neolithic spread of these chromosomes from the Near East. Here, we address this debate by investigating frequency patterns and diversity in the largest collection of R1b1b2-M269 chromosomes yet assembled. Our analysis reveals no geographical trends in diversity, in contradiction to expectation under the Neolithic hypothesis, and suggests an alternative explanation for the apparent cline in diversity recently described. We further investigate the young, STR-based time to the most recent common ancestor estimates proposed so far for R-M269-related lineages and find evidence for an appreciable effect of microsatellite choice on age estimates. As a consequence, the existing data and tools are insufficient to make credible estimates for the age of this haplogroup, and conclusions about the timing of its origin and dispersal should be viewed with a large degree of caution.
最近，关于欧洲主要Y染色体单倍群R1b1b2-M269起源的争论再度燃起，观点已从旧石器时代起源转向这些染色体在新石器时代从近东地区较晚扩散的概念。在此，我们通过研究迄今所汇集的最大规模R1b1b2-M269染色体集合中的频率模式和多样性来探讨这一争论。我们的分析揭示，多样性不存在地理趋势，这与新石器时代假说下的预期相悖，并为最近所描述的明显的多样性渐变提出了另一种解释。我们进一步研究了基于短串联重复序列（STR）的、针对R-M269相关谱系迄今所提出的到最近共同祖先的时间估计，发现有证据表明微卫星选择对年龄估计有显著影响。因此，现有数据和工具不足以对该单倍群的年龄做出可靠估计，关于其起源和扩散时间的结论应极为谨慎地看待。
