Mitogenome Diversity in Sardinians: A Genetic Window onto an Island's Past

Olivieri, A.; Sidore, C.; Achilli, A.; Angius, A.; Posth, C.; Furtwängler, A.; Brandini, S.; Rosario Capodiferro, M.; Gandini, F.; Zoledziewska, M.; Pitzalis, M.; Maschio, A.; Busonero, F.; Lai, L.; Skeates, R.; Gradoli, M.G.; Beckett, J.; Marongiu, M.; Mazzarello, V.; Marongiu, P.; Rubino, S.; Rito, T.; Macaulay, V.; Semino, O.; Pala, M.; Abecasis, G.R.; Schlessinger, D.; Conde-Sousa, E.; Soares, P.; Richards, M.B.; Cucca, F.; Torroni, A.

Abstract

Sardinians are “outliers” in the European genetic landscape and, according to paleogenomic nuclear data, the closest to early European Neolithic farmers. To learn more about their genetic ancestry, we analyzed 3,491 modern and 21 ancient mitogenomes from Sardinia. We observed that 78.4% of modern mitogenomes cluster into 89 haplogroups that most likely arose in situ. For each Sardinian-specific haplogroup (SSH), we also identified the upstream node in the phylogeny, from which non-Sardinian mitogenomes radiate. This provided minimum and maximum time estimates for the presence of each SSH on the island. In agreement with demographic evidence, almost all SSHs coalesce in the post-Nuragic, Nuragic and Neolithic-Copper Age periods. For some rare SSHs, however, we could not dismiss the possibility that they might have been on the island prior to the Neolithic, a scenario that would be in agreement with archeological evidence of a Mesolithic occupation of Sardinia.

Citation

Olivieri, A., Sidore, C., Achilli, A., Angius, A., Posth, C., Furtwängler, A., …Torroni, A. (2017). Mitogenome Diversity in Sardinians: A Genetic Window onto an Island's Past. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 34(5), 1230-1239. https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msx082

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 3, 2017
• Online Publication Date: Feb 8, 2017
• Publication Date: May 1, 2017
• Deposit Date: May 30, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: May 30, 2017
• Journal: Molecular Biology and Evolution
• Print ISSN: 0737-4038
• Electronic ISSN: 1537-1719
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 34
• Issue: 5
• Pages: 1230-1239
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msx082
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1358113