TY - JOUR
T1 - Estimating scandinavian and gaelic ancestry in the male settlers of Iceland
AU - Helgason, Agnar
AU - Sigurðardottir, Sigrún
AU - Nicholson, Jayne
AU - Sykes, Bryan
AU - Hill, Emmeline W.
AU - Bradley, Daniel G.
AU - Bosnes, Vidar
AU - Gulcher, Jeffery R.
AU - Ward, Ryk
AU - Stefánsson, Kári
N1 - Funding Information: We would like to thank the volunteers who contributed their DNA for this study. We are indebted to Tatiana Zerjal, Lars Beckman, and Chris Tyler-Smith, for information about unpublished Swedish Y-chromosome data and for useful comments on the manuscript. We thank two anonymous reviewers for their perceptive comments. The typing of the Scottish and Norwegian data was supported by a Wellcome Trust award (to B.S.). A.H. was supported by an Overseas Research Studentship award from the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals of Universities and Colleges in the United Kingdom, 1997–99.
PY - 2000
Y1 - 2000
N2 - We present findings based on a study of Y-chromosome diallelic and microsatellite variation in 181 Icelanders, 233 Scandinavians, and 283 Gaels from Ireland and Scotland. All but one of the Icelandic Y chromosomes belong to haplogroup 1 (41.4%), haplogroup 2 (34.2%), or haplogroup 3 (23.8%). We present phylogenetic networks of Icelandic Y-chromosome variation, using haplotypes constructed from seven diallelic markers and eight microsatellite markers, and we propose two new clades. We also report, for the first time, the phylogenetic context of the microsatellite marker DYS385 in Europe. A comparison of haplotypes based on six diallelic loci and five micro-satellite loci indicates that some Icelandic haplogroup-1 chromosomes are likely to have a Gaelic origin, whereas for most Icelandic haplogroup-2 and -3 chromosomes, a Scandinavian origin is probable. The data suggest that 20%-25% of Icelandic founding males had Gaelic ancestry, with the remainder having Norse ancestry. The closer relationship with the Scandinavian Y-chromosome pool is supported by the results of analyses of genetic distances and lineage sharing. These findings contrast with results based on mtDNA data, which indicate closer matrilineal links with populations of the British Isles. This supports the model, put forward by some historians, that the majority of females in the Icelandic founding population had Gaelic ancestry, whereas the majority of males had Scandinavian ancestry.
AB - We present findings based on a study of Y-chromosome diallelic and microsatellite variation in 181 Icelanders, 233 Scandinavians, and 283 Gaels from Ireland and Scotland. All but one of the Icelandic Y chromosomes belong to haplogroup 1 (41.4%), haplogroup 2 (34.2%), or haplogroup 3 (23.8%). We present phylogenetic networks of Icelandic Y-chromosome variation, using haplotypes constructed from seven diallelic markers and eight microsatellite markers, and we propose two new clades. We also report, for the first time, the phylogenetic context of the microsatellite marker DYS385 in Europe. A comparison of haplotypes based on six diallelic loci and five micro-satellite loci indicates that some Icelandic haplogroup-1 chromosomes are likely to have a Gaelic origin, whereas for most Icelandic haplogroup-2 and -3 chromosomes, a Scandinavian origin is probable. The data suggest that 20%-25% of Icelandic founding males had Gaelic ancestry, with the remainder having Norse ancestry. The closer relationship with the Scandinavian Y-chromosome pool is supported by the results of analyses of genetic distances and lineage sharing. These findings contrast with results based on mtDNA data, which indicate closer matrilineal links with populations of the British Isles. This supports the model, put forward by some historians, that the majority of females in the Icelandic founding population had Gaelic ancestry, whereas the majority of males had Scandinavian ancestry.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/20244378207
U2 - 10.1086/303046
DO - 10.1086/303046
M3 - Article
C2 - 10931763
SN - 0002-9297
VL - 67
SP - 697
EP - 717
JO - American journal of human genetics
JF - American journal of human genetics
IS - 3
ER -