Laboratory of Genetics, Immunology and Human Pathology, Faculté des Sciences de Tunis, Université de Tunis El Manar, Tunis, 2092, Tunisia.
High Institute of Biotechnology, University of Monastir, Monastir, 5000, Tunisia.
Am J Hum Biol. 2018 May;30(3):e23100. doi: 10.1002/ajhb.23100. Epub 2018 Jan 23.
Through previous mitochondrial DNA studies, the Middle Eastern maternal genetic contribution to Tunisian populations appears limited. In fact, most of the studied communities were cosmopolitan, or of Berber or Andalusian origin. To provide genetic evidence for the actual contribution of Middle Eastern mtDNA lineages to Tunisia, we focused on two Arab speaking populations from Kairouan and Wesletia known to belong to an Arab genealogical lineage.
A total of 114 samples were sequenced for the mtDNA HVS-I and HVS-II regions. Using these data, we evaluated the distribution of Middle Eastern haplogroups in the study populations, constructed interpolation maps, and established phylogenetic networks allowing estimation of the coalescence time for three specific Middle Eastern subclades (R0a, J1b, and T1).
Both studied populations displayed North African genetic structure and Middle Eastern lineages with a frequency of 12% and 28.12% in Kairouan and Wesletia, respectively. TMRCA estimates for haplogroups T1a, R0a, and J1b in Tunisian Arabian samples were around 15 000 YBP, 9000 to 5000 YBP, and 960 to 600 YBP, respectively.
The Middle Eastern maternal genetic contribution to Tunisian populations, as to other North African populations, occurred mostly in deep prehistory. They were brought in different migration waves during the Upper Paleolithic, probably with the expansion of Iberomaurusian culture, and during Epipaleolithic and Early Neolithic periods, which are concomitant with the Capsian civilization. Middle Eastern lineages also came to Tunisia during the recent Islamic expansion of the 7th CE and the subsequent massive Bedouin migration during the 11th CE.
通过之前的线粒体 DNA 研究，中东母系遗传对突尼斯人群的贡献似乎有限。事实上，大多数研究的社区都是世界性的，或者是柏柏尔或安达卢西亚人的起源。为了提供中东 mtDNA 谱系实际对突尼斯贡献的遗传证据，我们专注于来自凯鲁万和韦斯莱蒂亚的两个讲阿拉伯语的群体，已知它们属于阿拉伯血统。
对 114 个样本的 mtDNA HVS-I 和 HVS-II 区域进行了测序。利用这些数据，我们评估了研究人群中中东单倍群的分布，构建了插值图，并建立了进化网络，以估计三个特定中东亚群（R0a、J1b 和 T1）的合并时间。
两个研究人群都显示出北非的遗传结构和中东血统，在凯鲁万和韦斯莱蒂亚的频率分别为 12%和 28.12%。突尼斯阿拉伯样本中 T1a、R0a 和 J1b 单倍群的 TMRCA 估计值分别约为 15000 年前、9000 至 5000 年前和 960 至 600 年前。
中东母系遗传对突尼斯人群的贡献，就像对其他北非人群一样，主要发生在远古时期。它们在旧石器时代晚期，可能随着伊伯毛里安文化的扩张，以及在旧石器时代晚期和新石器时代早期，与卡普西亚文明同时，随着不同的迁徙浪潮传入。中东血统也在公元 7 世纪伊斯兰教的扩张以及公元 11 世纪随后的大规模贝都因移民期间传入突尼斯。
