2 documents found, page 1 of 1
The genome-wide structure of the Jewish people
Behar, DM; Yunusbayev, B; Metspalu, M; Metspalu, E; Rosset, S; Parik, J; Rootsi, S; Chaubey, G; Kutuev, I; Yudkovsky, G; Khusnutdinova, EKContemporary Jews comprise an aggregate of ethno-religious communities whose worldwide members identify with each other through various shared religious, historical and cultural traditions. Historical evidence suggests common origins in the Middle East, followed by migrations leading to the establishment of communities of Jews in Europe, Africa and Asia, in what is termed the Jewish Diaspora. This complex demog...
The Matrilineal Ancestry of Ashkenazi Jewry: Portrait of a Recent Founder Event
Behar, DM; Metspalu, E; Kivisild, T; Achilli, A; Hadid, Y; Tzur, S; Pereira, L; Amorim, A; Quintana-Murci, L; Majamaa, K; Herrnstadt, C; Howell, NBoth the extent and location of the maternal ancestral deme from which the Ashkenazi Jewry arose remain obscure. Here, using complete sequences of the maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), we show that close to one-half of Ashkenazi Jews, estimated at 8,000,000 people, can be traced back to only 4 women carrying distinct mtDNAs that are virtually absent in other populations, with the important excepti...