Haplogroup J-M267


Haplogroup J-M267, also commonly known as Haplogroup J1, is a subclade of Y-DNA haplogroup J-P209 along with its sibling clade haplogroup J-M172.
The oldest J-M267 positive remains found so far are from a Caucasus Hunter-Gatherer from Satsurblia cave, Georgia.
Men from this lineage share a common paternal ancestor, which is demonstrated and defined by the presence of the single nucleotide polymorphism mutation referred to as M267, which was announced in. This haplogroup is found today in significant frequencies in many areas in or near the Arabian Peninsula and Western Asia. Out of its native Asian Continent, it is found at very high frequencies in Sudan. It is also found at very high but lesser extent in parts of the Caucasus, Ethiopia and parts of North Africa and amongst most Levant peoples, including Jewish groups, especially those with Cohen surnames. It can also be found much less commonly, but still occasionally in significant amounts, in parts of southern Europe and as far east as Central Asia.

Origins

Since the discovery of haplogroup J-P209 it has generally been recognized that it shows signs of having evolved ~ 20,000 years ago somewhere in northwestern Iran, the Caucasus, the Armenian Highlands, and northern Mesopotamia. The frequency and diversity of both its major branches, J-M267 and J-M172, in that region makes them candidates as genetic markers of the spread of farming technology during the Neolithic, which is proposed to have had a major impact upon human populations.
J-M267 has several recognized subclades, some of which were recognized before J-M267 itself was recognized, for example J-M62. With one notable exception, J-P58, most of these are not common. Because of the dominance of J-P58 in J-M267 populations in many areas, discussion of J-M267's origins require a discussion of J-P58 at the same time.
Haplogroup J-P58 is strongly associated with ancient populations from the Caucasus and ancient Iran. Current DNA research indicates that this haplogroup was absent in all Natufian and Neolithic Levant male individuals examined thus far, but emerged during the Bronze Age in Lebanon and Jordan along with ancestry related to Chalcolithic Iranians. This ancestry penetrated the Levant between 3,300 and 5,900 YBP and Arabia between 2,000 and 3,500 YBP. These times overlap with the dates for the Bronze Age origin and spread of Semitic languages in the Middle East estimated from lexical data.

Distribution

Africa

North Africa and Horn of Africa

North Africa received Semitic migrations, according to some studies it may have been diffused in recent time by Arabs who, mainly from the 7th century A.D., expanded to northern Africa. However the Canary Islands is not known to have had any Semitic language. In North Africa J-M267 is dominated by J-P58, and dispersed in a very uneven manner according to studies so far, often but not always being lower among Berber and/or non-urban populations. In Ethiopia there are signs of older movements of J-M267 into Africa across the Red Sea, not only in the J-P58 form. This also appears to be associated with Semitic languages. According to a study in 2011, in Tunisia, J-M267 is significantly more abundant in the urban than in the rural total population .
PopulationSample sizeJ*total J-M267J-M267J-P58publicationprevious research on same samples
Algeria 102NA22.5%NANA
Algeria20NA35%NANA
Egypt147NA21.1%1.4%19.7%
Egypt124NA19.8%NANA
Egypt 35NA31.4%NANA
Libya 47NA0%NANA
Libya 238NA39.5%NANAAlvarez 2014Elmrghni 2012
Morocco 87NA26.4%NANAFadhlaoui-Zid 2013
Morocco 49NA20.4%NANA
Morocco 28NA60.7%NANAUnderhill 2000
Morocco 19NA31.5%NANAFrancalacci 2008
Morocco 64NA6.3%NANA
Morocco 103NA10.7%NANA
Morocco 267NA21.3%NANAAlvarez 2014Aboukhalid 2010
Morocco 166NA15.7%NANAAlvarez 2014Laouina 2011
Morocco 96NA29.2%NANAAlvarez 2014Palet 2010
Morocco 49NA8.2%NANAAlvarez 2014
Morocco 108NA16.7%0.0%16.7%Regueiro 2015
Tunisia73NA34.2%NANA
Tunisia601Na16.64%NANAPestano J, et al.
Tunisia 220NA25.9%0.0%25.9%Fadhlaoui-Zid 2015
Tunisia 148NA32.4%1.3%31.1%
Tunisia52NA34.6%NANA
Tunisia 40NA0%NANA
Tunisia 40NA5%0%5%
Tunisia 46NA8.7%NANA
Tunisia 47NA0%NANA
Tunisia 35NA31.4%0%31.4%
Tunisia 32NA43.8%0%43.8%
Tunisia 33NA24.20%24.2%
Tunisia 47NA34.0%NANAAlvarez 2014Frigi 2011
Tunisia 56NA25%0.0%25%Regueiro 2015
Tunisia 72NA15.3%0.0%15.3%Regueiro 2015
Canary Islands 30NA16.7%NANA
Canary Islands 42NA11.9%NANA
Canary Islands652NA3.5%NANA
Sahrawis89NA20.2%NANA and
Sudan 35NA74.3%0.0%74.3% and
Sudan 35NA17.1%0.0%17.1%
Sudan 61NA4.9%3.3%1.6%
Ethiopia 78NA2.6%2.6%0.0%
Ethiopia 48NA29.2%8.3%20.8%
Ethiopia 8522%NANANA
Ethiopia9521%NANANA
Somalis 2010.5%2.5%NA2.5%J-P58 might be 5% in upcoming study
Comoros293NA5.0%NANA
South Africa 76NA39.5%26.3%13.2%
Zimbabwe 54NA9.3%9.3%NA

Asia

South Asia

J* was found in India among Indian Muslims.
PopulationSample sizeJ*total J-M267J-M267J-P58Publication
India 16110.6%NANANA
India 1292.3%NANANA
India 4010%NANANA

West Asia

The area including eastern Turkey and the Zagros and Taurus mountains, has been identified as a likely area of ancient J-M267 diversity. Both J-P58 and other types of J-M267 are present, sometimes with similar frequencies.
PopulationSample sizeTotal J-M267J-M267J-P58PublicationPrevious research on same samples
Turkey5239.0%3.1%5.9%
Iran15011.3%2.7%8.7%
Iran NA33.4%NANAKivisild 2012
Iraq 9311.8%4.3%7.5%
Iraq 2828.6%17.9%10.7%
Iraq 5664.1%1.8%62.3%
Iran 3116.1%9.7%6.5%
Iran923.2%NANA
Turkey 2520.0%16.0%4.0%

Levant and Semitic populations

J-M267 is very common throughout this region, dominated by J-P58, but some specific sub-populations have notably low frequencies.
PopulationSample sizeTotal J-M267J-M267J-P58PublicationPrevious research on same samples
Syria55433.6%NANA
Syria 3414.7%2.9%11.8%
Syria 3647.2%2.8%44.4%
Syria 446.8%4.5%2.3%
Syria 1414.3%0.0%14.3%
Syria 429.5%0.0%9.5%
Syria 4526.7%0.0%26.7%
Syria 303.3%0.0%3.3%
Syria 5158.8%0.0%58.8%
Lebanon95125%NANA
Galilee Druze17213.4%1.2%12.2%
Palestinians 10139.2%NANA
Palestinians4932.7%0.0%32.7%
Jordan7648.7%0.0%48.7%
Jordan27335.5%NANA
Jordan 10140.6%NANA
Jordan 458.9%NANA
Jews 5712.3%NANA
Jews 21546.0%0.0%46.0%
Jews 1,36014.9%0.9%14.0%
Bedouin 2867.9%3.6%64.3%

Arabian peninsula

J-P58 is the most common Y-Chromosome haplogroup among men from all of this region.
PopulationSample sizeTotal J-M267J-M267J-P58PublicationPrevious research on same samples
Saudi Arabia15740.1%NANA
Qatar7258.3%1.4%56.9%
United Arab Emirates16434.8%0.0%34.8%
Yemen6272.6%4.8%67.7%
Kuwait11745.2%NANA
Oman12138.0%0.8%37.2%

Europe

J-M267 is uncommon in most of Northern and Central Europe. It is, however, found in significant pockets at levels of 5–10% among many populations in southern Europe. A 2018 genetic study with the extant variation strongly suggests the Caucasus and regions North of it as likely to be an origin of the Greek and Italian J-M267 haplogroup.
PopulationSample sizeTotal J-M267J-M267J-P58publication
Albania563.6%NANA
North Macedonia 646.3%NANA
Malta907.8%NANA
Greece 1938.3%NANA
Greece 1714.7%NANA
Greece 561.8%NANA
Greece2491.6%NANA
Bulgaria8083.4%NANA
Romania1301.5%NANA
Russia2230.4%NANA
Croatia 290%NANA
Slovenia751.3%NANA
Italy 670%NANA
Italy 9150.7%NANA
Italy 2363.8%NANA
France 512%NANA
Portugal 1011%NANA
Portugal 1024.9%NANA
Portugal 1007%NANA
Portugal 1212.5%NANA
Portugal 1290%NANA

Caucasus

The Caucasus has areas of both high and low J-M267 frequency. The J-M267 in the Caucasus is also notable because most of it is not within the J-P58 subclade.
PopulationSample sizeTotal J-M267J-M267J-P58Publication
Avars11559%58%1%
Dargins10170%69%1%
Kubachi6599%99%0%
Kaitak3385%85%0%
Lezghins8144.4%44.4%0%
Shapsug1000%0%0%
Abkhaz580%0%0%
Circassians14211.9%4.9%7%
Ingush1432.8%2.8%0%
Ossetians3571.3%1.3%0.0%
Chechens 11221%21%0%
Chechens 11825%25%0%
Chechens 10016%16%0%
Azerbaijan4615.2%NANA

Subclade Distribution

J-P58

The P58 marker which defines subgroup J1c3 was announced in, but had been announced earlier under the name Page08 in. It is very prevalent in many areas where J-M267 is common, especially in parts of North Africa and throughout the Arabian peninsula. It also makes up approximately 70% of the J-M267 among the Amhara of Ethiopia. Notably, it is not common among the J-M267 of the Caucasus.
proposed that J-P58 might have first dispersed during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B period, "from a geographical zone, including northeast Syria, northern Iraq and eastern Turkey toward Mediterranean Anatolia, Ismaili from southern Syria, Jordan, Palestine and northern Egypt." They further propose that the Zarzian material culture may be ancestral. They also propose that this movement of people may also be linked to the dispersal of Semitic languages by hunter-herders, who moved into arid areas during periods known to have had low rainfall. Thus, while other haplogroups including J-M267 moved out of the area with agriculturalists who followed the rainfall, populations carrying J-M267 remained with their flocks.
According to this scenario, after the initial neolithic expansion involving Semitic languages, which possibly reached as far as Yemen, a more recent dispersal occurred during the Chalcolithic or Early Bronze Age, and this involved the branch of Semitic which leads to the Arabic language. The authors propose that this involved a spread of some J-P58 from the direction of Syria towards Arab populations of the Arabian Peninsula and Negev.
On the other hand, the authors agree that later waves of dispersion in and around this area have also had complex effects upon the distributions of some types of J-P58 in some regions. They list three regions which are particularly important to their proposal:
  1. The Levant. In this area, note a "patchy distribution of J1c3 or J-P58 frequency" which is difficult to interpret, and which "may reflect the complex demographic dynamics of religion and ethnicity in the region".
  2. The Armenian Highlands, northern Iraq and western Iran. In this area, recognize signs that J-M267 might have an older presence, and on balance they accept the evidence but note that it could be in error.
  3. The southern area of Oman, Yemen and Ethiopia. In this area, recognize similar signs, but reject it as possibly a result of "either sampling variability and/or demographic complexity associated with multiple founders and multiple migrations."

The "YCAII=22-22 and DYS388≥15" cluster

Studies show that J-P58 group is not only in itself very dominant in many areas where J-M267 or J1 are common, but it also contains a large cluster which had been recognized before the discovery of P58. It is still a subject of research though.
This relatively young cluster, compared to J-M267 overall, was identified by STR markers haplotypes - specifically YCAII as 22-22, and DYS388 having unusual repeat values of 15 or higher, instead of more typical 13 This cluster was found to be relevant in some well-publicized studies of Jewish and Palestinian populations. More generally, since then this cluster has been found to be frequent among men in the Middle East and North Africa, but less frequent in areas of Ethiopia and Europe where J-M267 is nevertheless common. The genetical pattern is therefore similar to the pattern of J-P58 generally, described above, and may be caused by the same movements/migration of people.
refers to this overall cluster with YCAII=22-22 and high DYS388 values as an "Arabic" as opposed to a "Eurasian" type of J-M267. This Arabic type includes Arabic speakers from Maghreb, Sudan, Iraq and Qatar, and it is a relatively homogeneous group, implying that it might have dispersed relatively recently compared to J-M267 generally. The more diverse "Eurasian" group includes Europeans, Kurds, Iranians and Ethiopians, and is much more diverse. The authors also say that "Omanis show a mix of Eurasian pool-like and typical Arabic haplotypes as expected, considering the role of corridor played at different times by the Gulf of Oman in the dispersal of Asian and East African genes." also noted the anomalously high apparent age of Omani J-M267 when looking more generally at J-P58 and J-M267 more generally.
This cluster in turn contains three well-known related sub-clusters. First, it contains the majority of the Jewish "modal haplotype", found among Jewish populations, but especially in men with surnames related to Cohen. It also contains the "Galilee modal haplotype" and "Palestinian & Israeli Arab modal haplotype", both of which are associated with Palestinian/Israeli Arabs by and. then pointed out that the GMH is also the most frequent type of J-P209 haplotype found in north-west Africans and Yemenis, so it is not restricted to Israel and Palestine. However, this particular variant "is absent" from two particular "non-Arab Middle Eastern populations", namely "Jews and Muslim Kurds". noted not only the presence of the GMH in the Maghreb but also that J-M267 in this region had very little diversity. They concluded that J-M267 in this region is a result of two distinct migration events: "early Neolithic dispersion" and "expansions from the Arabian peninsula" during the 7th century. later agreed that this seemed consistent with the evidence and generalized from this that distribution of the entire YCAII=22-22 cluster of J-M267 in the Arabic-speaking areas of the Middle East and North Africa might in fact mainly have an origin in historical times.
More recent studies have emphasized doubt that the Islamic expansions are old enough to completely explain the major patterns of J-M267 frequencies. rejected this for J-P58 as a whole, but accepted that "some of the populations with low diversity, such as Bedouins from Israel, Qatar, Sudan and UAE, are tightly clustered near high-frequency haplotypes suggesting founder effects with star burst expansion in the Arabian Desert". They did not comment on the Maghreb.
take a stronger position of rejecting any strong correlation between the Arab expansion and either the YCAII=22-22 STR-defined sub-cluster as discussed by or the smaller "Galilee modal haplotype" as discussed by. They also estimate that the Cohen modal haplotype must be older than 4500 years old, and maybe as much as 8600 years old - well before the supposed origin of the Cohanim. Only the "Palestinian & Israeli Arab" modal had a strong correlation to an ethnic group, but it was also rare. In conclusion, the authors were negative about the usefulness of STR defined modals for any "forensic or genealogical purposes" because "they were found across ethnic groups with different cultural or geographic affiliation".
disagreed, at least concerning the Cohen modal haplotype. They said that it was necessary to look at a more detailed STR haplotype in order to define a new "Extended Cohen Modal Haplotype" which is extremely rare outside Jewish populations, and even within Jewish populations is mainly only found in Cohanim. They also said that by using more markers and a more restrictive definition, the estimated age of the Cohanim lineage is lower than the estimates of, and it is consistent with a common ancestor at the approximate time of founding of the priesthood which is the source of Cohen surnames.
Tofanelli et al. 2014 responded by saying: "In conclusion, while the observed distribution of sub-clades of haplotypes at mitochondrial and Y chromosome non-recombinant genomes might be compatible with founder events in recent times at the origin of Jewish groups as Cohenite, Levite, Ashkenazite, the overall substantial polyphyletism as well as their systematic occurrence in non-Jewish groups highlights the lack of support for using them either as markers of Jewish ancestry or Biblical tales."

J-M368

The correspondence between P58 and high DYS388 values, and YCAII=22-22 is not perfect. For example the J-M267 subclade of J-P58 defined by SNP M368 has DYS388=13 and YCAII=19-22, like other types of J-M267 outside the "Arabic" type of J-M267, and it is therefore believed to be a relatively old offshoot of J-P58, that did not take part in the most recent waves of J-M267 expansion in the Middle East. These DYS388=13 haplotypes are most common in the Caucasus and Anatolia, but also found in Ethiopia.

Phylogenetics and distribution

There are several confirmed and proposed phylogenetic trees available for haplogroup J-M267. The following phylogeny or family tree of J-M267 haplogroup subclades is based on the ISOGG tree, which is in turn based upon the YCC 2008 tree and subsequent published research.
J1 J1* J1* clusters are found in the Armenian Highlands and parts of the Caucasus.J1a Found at very low frequency in Europe.J1b Found at low frequency in the Armenian Highlands, Iran, Qatar and parts of Europe.J1c
  • *J1c* Found at low frequency in Europe.
  • * J1c1
  • * J1c2 Found sporadically in Anatolia, East Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and Europe.
  • * J1c3
  • **J1c3* Found at low frequency in the Levant and the Arabian Peninsula.
  • ** J1c3a Previously known as J1e1.
  • ** J1c3b Previously known as J1e2.
  • ** J1c3c Found at low frequency in South Arabia.
  • ** J1c3d Accounts for the majority of J1, the predominant haplogroup in the Arabian peninsula.
  • ***J1c3d* Accounts for the majority of J1 in Yemen, Cohen Jews.
  • *** J1c3d1
  • *** J1c3d2 Accounts for the majority of J1c3d in Saudi Arabia. An important element of J1c3d in North Africa.
  • **** J1c3d2*
  • ***** '''J1c3d2a '''

Ancient DNA

Caucasian hunter-gatherer
An ancient sample of J1 was found at Satsurblia Cave In Georgia circa 11,000 BC, specifically belonging to the rare J1-FT34521 subclade. The ancient individual from Satsurblia was male with black hair, brown eyes, and light skin.
Eastern European hunter-gatherer
Haplogroup J1 was found among Eastern hunter-gatherers. J1 was found among several samples from Minino, Vologda Oblast, three samples from Yuzhnyy Oleni Ostrov, Republic of Karelia and two samples from Popovo, Arkhangelsk Oblast.
Anatolian Neolithic Farmers '
Haplogroup J1 was found among samples from Anatolian farmers. Two samples from Çatalhöyük belonged to haplogroup J1.
Tell Kurdu
One out of 4 male individuals from Tell Kurdu who lived circa 5661-5630 BC, belonged to J1-L620.
Khvalynsk culture
An ancient sample of J1 was found among individuals from Khvalynsk culture.
Kura–Araxes culture
Haplogroup J1 was found among several samples from Kura-Araxes culture.
Arslantepe archaeological complex
One out of 18 male individuals from Arslantepe who lived c. 3491-3122 BC, belonged to haplogroup J1-Z1824.
Ancient city of Ebla
Three out of 6 individuals from Ebla who lived between 2565-1896 BC, belonged to J1-P58.
Amorite city-state '

Five out 12 male individuals from Alalakh who lived between 1930-1325 BC, belonged to haplogroup J1-P58.

Works cited

Journals

  • See also
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Websites

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