New map of mtDNA haplogroup K

[Maciamo]

I have revised all the mtDNA frequencies and added 20 new populations. This now permits me to create mtDNA maps.

Ideally I would need more detailed regional data for central and southern Spain, all Germany, Ukraine and European Russia (except the Caucasus, which is well covered). I have got especially conflicting data for Russia, where frequencies for haplogroup K vary from 0% near Karelia to nearly 8% in nearby Vladimir and Yaroslav (around Moscow) but an average of just 3.7% for the 1768 samples collected.




Most K1a subclades were dispersed by Near Eastern Neolithic farmers. K1a was the most frequent form of K found in Neolithic samples all over Europe. Haplogroup K seems to have been twice more prevalent in Neolithic Europe than today. Apart from one K2a5 sample and Ötzi's K1f, all Neolithic samples were K1a, including one K1a4a1a2. K1a is also very common in the Levant today, notably among the Druzes, who are believed to be the population most representative of the pre-Arabic expansion in the Levant, and possibly the closest to the original Neolithic farmers.The Druzes, who have 13% of haplogroup K, possess mostly K1a subclades, including K1a4b, K1a6 and K1a12. K1a4 is the most common subclade in Europe today and could have been the most common subclade among Neolithic farmers.

Nevertheless, the frequency of haplogroup K seems to correlate with that of haplogroup R1b in Europe (although not in the Near East and North Africa). Why would there be a correlation with R1b, which only came during the Bronze Age and not during the Neolithic ? I believe that there may be two reasons for this:

1) R1b men replaced a high percentage of Neolithic lineages in Europe, particularly in Western Europe, which was less technologically advanced than Southeast Europe and was conquered later by better equipped R1b warriors. There are many ways in which R1b lineages could have come to replace Neolithic male lineages. I have explained this in detail here. In short, R1b men had children with indigenous Neolithic Western European women who carried such lineages as K1a, H1, H3, J1c, T2, X2, etc. From c. 2000 BCE these maternal lineages bore more children to R1b men than to other haplogroups, even those these mt-haplogroups were not originally Indo-European. This is hybridisation. K1a4 was one of those lineages assimilated by R1b men in Bronze Age Europe.

2) R1b people originated in the Near East and could have picked up maternal K lineages in Anatolia and the Caucasus (Georgia has the highest frequency of any country), then again in Southeast Europe before migrating to Western Europe.

K lineages that were already assimilated by R1b tribes before the Bronze Age expansion from the Pontic Steppe would have ended up all over Europe, but also in the Volga-Ural region, the Altai, Mongolia, Xinjiang, and most of Central Asia. Potential candidates for a Proto-Indo-European dispersal include K1a1a, K1a3 and K2a6. Other K subclades, such as K1c1, K1c2 and K2b are better associated with the spread of R1a Indo-Europeans. K1c2 and K2b1 are particularly common in Germanic countries and could be linked to the Germanic branch of R1a or to the Corded Ware culture. See Haplogroup K page for more details.

[Goga]

Thank you very much. Very intersting map. something worth to analyse!

[Goga]

According to this study Kurds in Eastern Kurdistan (Iranian Kurdistan) have 10% of mtDNA hg. 'K'. Not sure about Kurds in other places, though.

http://www.eupedia.com/forum/threads...nian-Kurdistan

[PaschalisB]

Finally, mtDNA frequency maps. I can't wait for U5

[Maciamo]

According to this study Kurds in Eastern Kurdistan (Iranian Kurdistan) have 10% of mtDNA hg. 'K'. Not sure about Kurds in other places, though.

http://www.eupedia.com/forum/threads...nian-Kurdistan

This is my source. Larger sample size.

[Alan]

I have revised all the mtDNA frequencies and added 20 new populations. This now permits me to create mtDNA maps.

Ideally I would need more detailed regional data for central and southern Spain, all Germany, Ukraine and European Russia (except the Caucasus, which is well covered). I have got especially conflicting data for Russia, where frequencies for haplogroup K vary from 0% near Karelia to nearly 8% in nearby Vladimir and Yaroslav (around Moscow) but an average of just 3.7% for the 1768 samples collected.

Considering that K reaches over 15% in some parts of Kurdistan according to some studies, I would have made a few parts of Kurdistan some shades darker.

Good to have mtDNA maps too now. Another great work. Would be great to have some maps of the other major mtDNA haplogroups.

[Nasturtium]

Thanks for the map! I am looking forward to other maps as well, for example my J1c3i (German/Swiss Mennonite). In the meantime, it's nice to see my grandpa is so British!. K1a4a1d from his British born mother and R1b1a2a1a1b4 R-L21 DF13+ from his American born father (most distant Y ancestor traced to Cardigan Wales).

[Maciamo]

Considering that K reaches over 15% in some parts of Kurdistan according to some studies, I would have made a few parts of Kurdistan some shades darker.

Are you thinking about one specific part of Kurdistan, one that wouldn't have that kind of frequency averaged down by other studies ?

[Alan]

Are you thinking about one specific part of Kurdistan, one that wouldn't have that kind of frequency averaged down by other studies ?

Yes especially in Syrian, Iraqi (~8-9 mio) Kurdistan with 10-12%. Basically where R1b among Kurds is more common. But because the population of Iranian and Anatolian Kurds is bigger it was averaged down I assume. Kurds from Iran(8 mio) and Turkey (~18 mio) would be more in the 5-6% range.

So the highest in Iraqi and Syrian Kurds, followed by Iranian and at least Anatolian Kurds. This would average down the frequency to ~5-6%.

[Eldritch]

Relatively irregular distribution i'd say.

[Maciamo]

Yes especially in Syrian, Iraqi (~8-9 mio) Kurdistan with 10-12%. Basically where R1b among Kurds is more common. But because the population of Iranian and Anatolian Kurds is bigger it was averaged down I assume. Kurds from Iran(8 mio) and Turkey (~18 mio) would be more in the 5-6% range.

So the highest in Iraqi and Syrian Kurds, followed by Iranian and at least Anatolian Kurds. This would average down the frequency to ~5-6%.

It makes sense since Iraqi and Syrian Kurdistan is shared by the Kurds and the Assyrians, and the latter are known for their high frequency of R1b. Also, Northern Iraq could have been the region of origin of R1b before it moved to the Caucasus and the Pontic Steppe.

[Alan]

It makes sense since Iraqi and Syrian Kurdistan is shared by the Kurds and the Assyrians, and the latter are known for their high frequency of R1b. Also, Northern Iraq could have been the region of origin of R1b before it moved to the Caucasus and the Pontic Steppe.

Iraqi and Syrian Kurds are known to have "allot" R1b, also the other parts of Kurdistan have actually relatively good percentages of R1b too, especially towards the border of Iraq and Syria. I think the reason why R1b "came so short" in Kurdistan of Turkey was based on the samples which were taken around the northern parts of Turkeys Kurdistan, while R1b seems to have a good frequency in Mardin, Siirt, Sirnak and areas around as I have seen by some studies and individual cases on KurdishDNAblog. So in general Kurds or Assyrians closer to fertile crescent/Mesopotamia tend to have higher frequency of R1b and it shrunk the further you go away in all directions.

I tried to mark the area which is rather 10%+ R1b. I included the Allawite territory too.
mtDNA-K-map.jpg

[elghund]

What about K1a9 and K1a10 and the clade just above them? Any ideas how they fit in with this new data?

[brianco]

Thanks Maciamo

My ancestor is K1a plus 195C

Many are from Western Europe but there are two from:

Belica, Bulgaria
Trabzon, Turkey


http://www.familytreedna.com/public/...?section=mtmap

I have revised all the mtDNA frequencies and added 20 new populations. This now permits me to create mtDNA maps.

[Sile]

I have revised all the mtDNA frequencies and added 20 new populations. This now permits me to create mtDNA maps.

Ideally I would need more detailed regional data for central and southern Spain, all Germany, Ukraine and European Russia (except the Caucasus, which is well covered). I have got especially conflicting data for Russia, where frequencies for haplogroup K vary from 0% near Karelia to nearly 8% in nearby Vladimir and Yaroslav (around Moscow) but an average of just 3.7% for the 1768 samples collected.



The frequency of haplogroup K seems to correlate with that of haplogroup R1b in Europe (although not in the Near East and North Africa). It has been proven by ancient DNA that hg K arrived in Europe during the Neolithic and Chalcolithic, and was apparently more prevalent back then than today. So why the correlation with R1b, which only came during the Bronze Age ? I believe that this is because R1b people originated in the Near East, then picked up maternal K lineages in the Caucasus (Georgia has the highest frequency of any country), then again in Southeast Europe before migrating to Western Europe. Nowadays the highest frequencies of mtDNA K in Europe are all found in regions with high R1b levels, such as Ireland, the Western Isles of Scotland, western Wales, the Benelux, Denmark, western France, Catalonia and northern Italy (especially northern Tuscany where R1b is particularly high). The Basques are an exception, but that was completely expected (my theory being that the Basques did not adopt an IE language because their retained essentially pre-IE maternal lineages).

All Neolithic lineages, both maternal and paternal, have declined in frequency with the arrival of the Indo-Europeans. I do not doubt that many K subclades in Europe originated with the Neolithic farmers, but they probably make up less than half of the number of modern lineages.

An analysis of the frequencies of K subclades would allow us to determine which subclades correlate most with a dispersal from the Caucasus/Balkans by R1b Indo-Europeans. At first sight I would say that K1a4 could be one of them, because it is found in Northeast Anatolia, Georgia southern Ukraine, Hungary, Czechia and all Western Europe. It is also the most common subclade in Northwest Europe.

Neolithic lineages would probably have a greater diversity (more subclades) because they expanded earlier. However the trimming of the Neolithic/Chalcolithic population would have slowed down their diversification from the Bronze Age. In contrast, Indo-European lineages would have thrived from the Bronze Age onwards, resulting in a sudden expansion of deep subclades. This is exactly what we observe with K1a4. The subclades that remained behind in Anatolia and the Caucasus have become K1a4f. In Ukraine, the Balkans and Germany we see the appearance of K1a4a. K1a4a1 seems to have developed in Germany, probably around the same time as the branching of R1b-L11 into P312 and U106. Then, in Western Europe we witness an explosion of subclades: K1a4a1a1, K1a4a1a2, K1a4a1a3, K1a4a1b, K1a4a1c, K1a4a1c, K1a4a1d, K1a4a1e, K1a4a1f, K1a4a1g... and more subclades under those. All of them are found in Western Europe, particularly in regions with high percentages of R1b. I am not aware of any K1a4a found in Sardinia, for instance. K1a4b, K1a4c, K1a4d, and K1a4e are much more minor but most of them are found in Germany and Western Europe too. K1a4c is found in southern Italy, Greece and western/central Anatolia and could be linked to the earlier branching off of R1b-L23.

There are surely other subclades of K linked to the diffusion of R1b. Potential candidates include K1a3, K1c1 and K2a6.

Note that haplogroup K has also been found in all Asian populations where R1b is present, including the Volga-Ural, the Altai, Mongolia, Xinjiang, and most of Central Asia.

where did you get the % for Veneto as I know of only 3 samples for K out of a test number of 68?

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/1....6520153.x/pdf

[Tabaccus Maximus]

I have revised all the mtDNA frequencies and added 20 new populations. This now permits me to create mtDNA maps.

Ideally I would need more detailed regional data for central and southern Spain, all Germany, Ukraine and European Russia (except the Caucasus, which is well covered). I have got especially conflicting data for Russia, where frequencies for haplogroup K vary from 0% near Karelia to nearly 8% in nearby Vladimir and Yaroslav (around Moscow) but an average of just 3.7% for the 1768 samples collected.



The frequency of haplogroup K seems to correlate with that of haplogroup R1b in Europe (although not in the Near East and North Africa). It has been proven by ancient DNA that hg K arrived in Europe during the Neolithic and Chalcolithic, and was apparently more prevalent back then than today. So why the correlation with R1b, which only came during the Bronze Age ?

Looking at your mtdna maps, Maciamo, an interesting pattern seems to be gaining resolution. On one hand you have K which appears to be almost inverse of U4 and U5 in peak geographic distribution. It would be interesting to overlay soil condition maps. Areas that were conducive to farming and grazing seem to be inhabited by one group(s) of people, whereas areas more conducive to browsing game appear to be inhabited by another group of people, possibly aboriginal peoples.

I know you previously theororized that R1b peoples might have also clustered in mining areas, which may be another settlement factor.

[Nobody1]

where did you get the % for Veneto as I know of only 3 samples for K out of a test number of 68?

The Boattini et al 2013 study has 108 samples from Veneto and Friul and is 8.3% mtDNA K;
The Mogentale-Profizi et al 2001 study you posted has the 68 samples from only Veneto and 4.4% mtDNA K;

Maybe the Friul is higher on average in direct comparison to the Veneto;

Turchi et al 2008 has 10.1% mtDNA K for Italian population (395 samples);
http://link.springer.com/article/10....414-007-0207-1

[Sile]

The Boattini et al 2013 study has 108 samples from Veneto and Friul and is 8.3% mtDNA K;
The Mogentale-Profizi et al 2001 study you posted has the 68 samples from only Veneto and 4.4% mtDNA K;

Maybe the Friul is higher on average in direct comparison to the Veneto;

Turchi et al 2008 has 10.1% mtDNA K for Italian population (395 samples);
http://link.springer.com/article/10....414-007-0207-1

Thanks

Maybe, as J and T in veneto are split between west and east veneto while other markers are similar, then K might be mostly Friuliani instead of veneti

[Nobody1]

Thanks

Maybe, as J and T in veneto are split between west and east veneto while other markers are similar, then K might be mostly Friuliani instead of veneti

It seems that the frequencies of mtDNA K varies throughout North Italy; depending on specific regions;

Lombardy (177 samples) = 11.2% mtDNA K -- Achilli et al 2007
Piedmont (169 samples) = 7.1% mtDNA K -- Achilli et al 2007
Veneto (68 samples) = 4.4% mtDNA K -- Mogentale-Profizi et al 2001
NE Italy (108 samples) = 8.3% mtDNA K -- Boattini et al 2013

Keeping in mind that Ötzi also belonged to mtDNA K [K1ö (extinct?)]

Austria (99 samples) = 7.0% mtDNA K -- Achilli et al 2007
Bavaria (249 samples) = 6.4% mtDNA K -- Achilli et al 2007
Ladiner/S Tyrol (102 samples) = 7.8% mtDNA K -- Thomas et al 2007


For mtDNA T seems to be much heavier in the North East compared to North West;

NE Italy (108 samples) = 14.8% mtDNA T -- Boattini et al 2013
Veneto (68 samples) = 22.0% mtDNA T -- Mogentale-Profizi et al 2001
Ladiner/S Tyrol (102 samples) = 14.7% mtDNA T -- Thomas et al 2007
NW Italy (162 samples) = 7.3% mtDNA T-- Boattini et al 2013
Lombardy (177 samples) = 11.8% mtDNA T -- Achilli et al 2007

[Sile]

It seems that the frequencies of mtDNA K varies throughout North Italy; depending on specific regions;

Lombardy (177 samples) = 11.2% mtDNA K -- Achilli et al 2007
Piedmont (169 samples) = 7.1% mtDNA K -- Achilli et al 2007
Veneto (68 samples) = 4.4% mtDNA K -- Mogentale-Profizi et al 2001
NE Italy (108 samples) = 8.3% mtDNA K -- Boattini et al 2013

Keeping in mind that Ötzi also belonged to mtDNA K [K1ö (extinct?)]

Austria (99 samples) = 7.0% mtDNA K -- Achilli et al 2007
Bavaria (249 samples) = 6.4% mtDNA K -- Achilli et al 2007
Ladiner/S Tyrol (102 samples) = 7.8% mtDNA K -- Thomas et al 2007


For mtDNA T seems to be much heavier in the North East compared to North West;

NE Italy (108 samples) = 14.8% mtDNA T -- Boattini et al 2013
Veneto (68 samples) = 22.0% mtDNA T -- Mogentale-Profizi et al 2001
Ladiner/S Tyrol (102 samples) = 14.7% mtDNA T -- Thomas et al 2007
NW Italy (162 samples) = 7.3% mtDNA T-- Boattini et al 2013
Lombardy (177 samples) = 11.8% mtDNA T -- Achilli et al 2007

22% for T ( mtdna) in veneto which IIRC is from the Caucasus seems really high

[Maciamo]

It seems that the frequencies of mtDNA K varies throughout North Italy; depending on specific regions;

Lombardy (177 samples) = 11.2% mtDNA K -- Achilli et al 2007
Piedmont (169 samples) = 7.1% mtDNA K -- Achilli et al 2007
Veneto (68 samples) = 4.4% mtDNA K -- Mogentale-Profizi et al 2001
NE Italy (108 samples) = 8.3% mtDNA K -- [I]Boattini et al 2013

Thanks for pointing that out. I forgot to check the full data from Achilli et al. 2007 as only Tuscany was in the PDF file. I have updated the K map and will update the others too.

[Angela]

I have revised all the mtDNA frequencies and added 20 new populations. This now permits me to create mtDNA maps.

Ideally I would need more detailed regional data for central and southern Spain, all Germany, Ukraine and European Russia (except the Caucasus, which is well covered). I have got especially conflicting data for Russia, where frequencies for haplogroup K vary from 0% near Karelia to nearly 8% in nearby Vladimir and Yaroslav (around Moscow) but an average of just 3.7% for the 1768 samples collected.



The frequency of haplogroup K seems to correlate with that of haplogroup R1b in Europe (although not in the Near East and North Africa). It has been proven by ancient DNA that hg K arrived in Europe during the Neolithic and Chalcolithic, and was apparently more prevalent back then than today. So why the correlation with R1b, which only came during the Bronze Age ? I believe that this is because R1b people originated in the Near East, then picked up maternal K lineages in the Caucasus (Georgia has the highest frequency of any country), then again in Southeast Europe before migrating to Western Europe. Nowadays the highest frequencies of mtDNA K in Europe are all found in regions with high R1b levels, such as Ireland, the Western Isles of Scotland, western Wales, the Benelux, Denmark, western France, Catalonia and northern Italy (especially northern Tuscany where R1b is particularly high). The Basques are an exception, but that was completely expected (my theory being that the Basques did not adopt an IE language because their retained essentially pre-IE maternal lineages).

All Neolithic lineages, both maternal and paternal, have declined in frequency with the arrival of the Indo-Europeans. I do not doubt that many K subclades in Europe originated with the Neolithic farmers, but they probably make up less than half of the number of modern lineages.

An analysis of the frequencies of K subclades would allow us to determine which subclades correlate most with a dispersal from the Caucasus/Balkans by R1b Indo-Europeans. At first sight I would say that K1a4 could be one of them, because it is found in Northeast Anatolia, Georgia southern Ukraine, Hungary, Czechia and all Western Europe. It is also the most common subclade in Northwest Europe.

Neolithic lineages would probably have a greater diversity (more subclades) because they expanded earlier. However the trimming of the Neolithic/Chalcolithic population would have slowed down their diversification from the Bronze Age. In contrast, Indo-European lineages would have thrived from the Bronze Age onwards, resulting in a sudden expansion of deep subclades. This is exactly what we observe with K1a4. The subclades that remained behind in Anatolia and the Caucasus have become K1a4f. In Ukraine, the Balkans and Germany we see the appearance of K1a4a. K1a4a1 seems to have developed in Germany, probably around the same time as the branching of R1b-L11 into P312 and U106. Then, in Western Europe we witness an explosion of subclades: K1a4a1a1, K1a4a1a2, K1a4a1a3, K1a4a1b, K1a4a1c, K1a4a1c, K1a4a1d, K1a4a1e, K1a4a1f, K1a4a1g... and more subclades under those. All of them are found in Western Europe, particularly in regions with high percentages of R1b. I am not aware of any K1a4a found in Sardinia, for instance. K1a4b, K1a4c, K1a4d, and K1a4e are much more minor but most of them are found in Germany and Western Europe too. K1a4c is found in southern Italy, Greece and western/central Anatolia and could be linked to the earlier branching off of R1b-L23.

There are surely other subclades of K linked to the diffusion of R1b. Potential candidates include K1a3, K1c1 and K2a6.

Note that haplogroup K has also been found in all Asian populations where R1b is present, including the Volga-Ural, the Altai, Mongolia, Xinjiang, and most of Central Asia.

I was wondering whether you have yet been able to incorporate into the maps the mtDNA lineages from Brisighelli et al that I mentioned in the mtDNA V thread. See Brisighelli et al, Table S3. The classifications are all the way to the right.
http://www.plosone.org/article/info:...l.pone.0050794

These are the numbers that I had computed for the K1a lineages by region from that study:
Catania (E.Sicily) 15%
Trappani (W.Sicily) 5%

Tyrrhenian Calabria 6%

Lucera, Puglia, 2%
Lecce, Puglia (Messapi area) 5%
Lecce, Greek speaking isolate 9%

Benevento, Campania (interior Sanniti Italic area) 6%

Latina, Lazio-Central Italy no K1a

Marche-E.Central Italy (Piceni area) 4%

Liguri-6%

Udine-Friuli one K2a

Val Badia-Trentino Alto Adige-Linguistic Isolate 7%

[Maciamo]

I was wondering whether you have yet been able to incorporate into the maps the mtDNA lineages from Brisighelli et al that I mentioned in the mtDNA V thread. See Brisighelli et al, Table S3. The classifications are all the way to the right.
http://www.plosone.org/article/info:...l.pone.0050794

These are the numbers that I had computed for the K1a lineages by region from that study:
Catania (E.Sicily) 15%
Trappani (W.Sicily) 5%

Tyrrhenian Calabria 6%

Lucera, Puglia, 2%
Lecce, Puglia (Messapi area) 5%
Lecce, Greek speaking isolate 9%

Benevento, Campania (interior Sanniti Italic area) 6%

Latina, Lazio-Central Italy no K1a

Marche-E.Central Italy (Piceni area) 4%

Liguri-6%

Udine-Friuli one K2a

Val Badia-Trentino Alto Adige-Linguistic Isolate 7%

I have not incorporated this data yet. I have started working on the regional frequencies for Italy, but it will take a few days before I can finish it.

[Knovas]

So it seems I am one of those 9 or 10% Catalans who belong to haplogroup K.

I think there were also earlier migrations into Europe during the Mesolithic as the climate conditions started to change. As for the rest, I'd say using haplogroup K as whole (many different subclades should be considered) to fit R1b distribution is not accurate at all. I agree some subclades do share an ancestral link with R1b, but the same surely happens with other Mt-DNA haplogroups. Modern distribution often gives a false picture, and if there's really a correlation that would contradict the idea that R1b invaders seemed to prefer native women instead of bringing their own ones. At least, that's the most popular postulate.

[Angela]

I have not incorporated this data yet. I have started working on the regional frequencies for Italy, but it will take a few days before I can finish it.

That's absolutely great. What a service you're performing here, Maciamo. Some of these studies, including Brisighelli, don't make it easy to compile the data...my eyes almost crossed doing just a few of them!

I know I'm not the only one who really appreciates what you're doing.