Sequences reported by Metspalu et.al [54]: Iranian (Iran) 436 samples. The Druze population of the Galilee represents a contemporary refugium of this past genetic landscape. We also used a more detailed model in which we included the relative weights of each one of the observed haplotypes, so the number of haplotypes in each lineage is not constant. The findings provide a formal demonstration that in an endogamous and consanguineous population, calculated mtDNA genetic diversity is significantly lower using random sampling than using paternal or maternal household directed sampling. One possible model for the colonization of a new or vacant habitat occurs when some subpopulations in nearby geographic regions contribute migrants to a common pool, the “migrant pool,” from which colonists are drawn at random to fill vacant sites, with mixing of individuals from different populations[27]. Druze: The greatest frequency of haplogroup X is observed in the Druze, a minority population in Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria, as much in X1 (16%) as in X2 (11%). Principal Findings An attractive hypothesis to explain this geographic concentration of lineages which diverged remotely within an ancient haplogroup (and which are not identified in other populations of the region) is that these Galilee Druze individuals represent the refugium of an ancestral group with high diversity and high frequency of haplogroup X, which was more prevalent in the region in antiquity, and from which the global diversity of X mtDNA haplogroup emerged. BACKGROUND: Phylogenetic mitochondrial DNA haplogroups are highly partitioned across global geographic regions. This social structure has turned the Druze into transnational isolates – a population which remains genetically isolated largely through the social practice of endogamy and consanguinity, despite being found in the midst of larger population majorities in multiple nationalities or countries[6]. Complete mtDNA sequencing for each of the D-loop defined haplotypes was carried out for haplogroups H and K samples, which together with haplogroup X were the 3 most prevalent haplogroups among the Druze population. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0002105, Editor: Neil John Gemmell, University of Canterbury, New Zealand, Received: August 31, 2007; Accepted: March 20, 2008; Published: May 7, 2008. We have used the isolation with migration model [29], which is a Markov chain Monte Carlo calculation using DNA sequence data to estimate the relative effects of migration and isolation on genetic diversity in a pair of populations. A unique exception is the X haplogroup, which has a widespread global distribution without major regions of distinct localization. This village, is believed to be one of the oldest Druze villages in Israel, and is mentioned in historical records dating from the 13th century. The mode of each marginal posterior distribution was considered as a point estimate of the corresponding parameter value. The Egyptian shared ancestry is also consistent with Druze oral tradition. The secret is out, says Druze MK Ayoub Kara: "The Druze are actually descended from the Jewish people, and genetic evidence proves it." Among 273 samples taken in Jordan, 5.5% were G. In another study, 5.9% of 101 Jordanian samples at Amman were G, and 0% of 45 samples in the Dead Sea area in Jordan were G. Kuwait Rather this combination among the Druze, of a large number of lineages, together with a high frequency of the haplogroup in which these lineages are found, suggests descent from an ancestral population, in which the X haplogroup was more abundant than it is in the contemporary Near East, and which reflects the prevailing Near East genetic landscape at that time, antedating the establishment of the Druze religion in 1017 A.C.E. (namely, X2a subclade). Analysis of NRY haplogroup frequencies demonstrated that the most frequent NRY haplogroup among the Druze was J (33.2%) followed by haplogroup E (18.9%) and haplogroup R (18.2%) (Table S6). Yes Subhaplogroup X1 was found to be largely restricted to the Afro-Asiatic-speaking populations of northern Africa and the neighboring areas, suggesting a possible geographic diffusion of X1 along the coast of the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. The highest frequencies of Haplogroup K was found to be in Belgium, The Netherlands, Cyprus and Lebanon. X is currently divided in four top branches (X1, X2, X3 and X4). We have examined mitochondrial DNA sequence variation together with Y-chromosome-based haplogroup structure among the Druze, a religious minority with a unique socio-demographic history residing in the Near East. Subclades X2a and X2g are found in North American Ojibwe. We have examined mitochondrial DNA sequence variation together with Y-chromosome-based haplogroup structure among the Druze, a religious minority with a unique socio-demographic history residing in the Near East. Druze customs strongly favor marriage within the same village or the same geographical area[5]. For example, the village of Beit -Jaan included 5 samples from haplogroup K, all of which belonged to the same lineage (Ĥ = 0). Haplogroup X is also one of the five haplogroups found in the indigenous peoples of the Americas. The simulation tool IM [40] was used to calculate maternal migration rates and population divergence times between pairs of populations. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0002105.s001, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0002105.s002, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0002105.s003, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0002105.s004, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0002105.s005, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0002105.s006, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0002105.s007, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0002105.s008. For more information about PLOS Subject Areas, click Shutterstock Our findings explain a 1,000-year saga of two people living side by side in these lands. Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and Research Institute, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel, It should be noted though, that directed sampling might miss localized founder effects and bottlenecks, since it does not provide the real haplotype frequencies, but rather is designed to uncover as many diverse lineages as possible for a given sample size. In the period immediately preceding the fall of the Second Temple in … Sequences reported by Thomas et.al [55]:Ashkenazi Jews (Ashkenazi) 78 samples Ethiopians (Ethiop) 74 samples. The issue of haplogroups only affects the SAAP analysis. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. The fifth character indicates the haplotype serial number. No population or geographic region has been identified to date, in which haplogroup X and its major subhaplogroups are found at both high frequency and high diversity, which could provide a potential clue as to their geographic origin. 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