Nuclear and Mitochondrial Analysis of ancient Mongolian sample

Am. J. Hum. Genet., 73:000, 2003

Nuclear and Mitochondrial DNA Analysis of a 2,000-Year-Old Necropolis in the Egyin Gol Valley of Mongolia

Christine Keyser-Tracqui et al.

Abstract

DNA was extracted from the skeletal remains of 62 specimens excavated from the Egyin Gol necropolis, in northern Mongolia. This burial site is linked to the Xiongnu period and was used from the 3rd century B.C. to the 2nd century A.D. Three types of genetic markers were used to determine the genetic relationships between individuals buried in the Egyin Gol necropolis. Results from analyses of autosomal and Y chromosome short tandem repeats, as well as mitochondrial DNA, showed close relationships between several specimens and provided additional background information on the social organization within the necropolis as well as the funeral practices of the Xiongnu people. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study using biparental, paternal, and maternal genetic systems to reconstruct partial genealogies in a protohistoric necropolis.

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"Although the mtDNA sequences obtained could not be assigned with certainty to mtDNA haplogroups (since they encompassed only the HVI of the control region), three (A, C, and D) of the four major haplogroups observed in Native American (Torroni et al. 1993) and Siberian (Starikovskaya et al. 1998; Schurr et al. 1999) populations were detected in the ancient samples tested (with haplogroup D being the most prevalent). A few sequences belonging to subclusters B4b, D5 or D5a, F1b, J1, G2a, U2 or U5a1a—and some that probably belonged to cluster M—were also observed (Richards et al. 2000; Yao et al. 2002). No member of the major European cluster H, which occurs in >40% of most European populations (Richards et al. 1996) was found. Interestingly, some of the haplotypes reported here are similar to those found in previous studies of the area (Kolman et al. 1996; Comas et al. 1998)."

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"A majority (89%) of the Xiongnu sequences can be classified as belonging to an Asian haplogroup (A, B4b, C, D4, D5 or D5a, or F1b), and nearly 11% belong to European haplogroups (U2, U5a1a, and J1). This finding indicates that the contacts between European and Asian populations were anterior to the Xiongnu culture, and it confirms results reported for two samples from an early 3rd century B.C. Scytho-Siberian population (Clisson et al. 2002)."

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