Phylogeography of Mitochondrial Haplogroup D1: An Early Spread of Subhaplogroup D1j from Central Argentina.

GARCÍA A, PAURO M, NORES R, BRAVI CM, DEMARCHI DA

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY

WILEY-LISS, DIV JOHN WILEY & SONS INC

Lugar: New York; Año: 2012 vol. 149 p. 583 - 590

0002-9483

In the present study we analized the patterns of variation of haplogroup D1 in the central region of Argentina including new data and information published from other native populations of South America. We observed that the recently described subhaplogroup D1j, defined by the presence of additional transitions at np T152C–C16242T–T16311C, is present in high frequency in all the sampling places accross the provinces ofCórdoba, Santiago, and San Luis, a wide territory with marked geographic-ecological differences and different historical events. Almost 28% (107/387) of the individuals sampled in the region belong to haplogroup D1, whereas more than 52% of them (56/107) correspond to the subhaplogroup D1j. On the other hand, 12 individuals of this region present the mutation C16187T, that defines the recently named subhaplogroup D1g, and has been previously described in several populations of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego. Based on our results and additional data published by Motti et al. (2010), who also found high incidence of this lineage in several populations of northwestern Argentina, we postulate that the most likely origin and dispersal of the haplogroup D1j corresponds to the Sierras Pampeanas, a geographic region that occupies the center and part of the northwestern portion of Argentina. The extensive yet restricted geographical distribution, the relatively large internal diversity, and the absence or extremely low incidence of the subhaplogroup D1j in other regions of South America, suggest the existence of an ancient metapopulation covering the region of the Sierras Pampeanas, being this lineage its genetic signature.