TY - JOUR
T1 - North African Jewish and non-Jewish populations form distinctive, orthogonal clusters
AU - Campbell, Christopher L.
AU - Palamara, Pier F.
AU - Dubrovsky, Maya
AU - Botigué, Laura R.
AU - Fellous, Marc
AU - Atzmon, Gil
AU - Oddoux, Carole
AU - Pearlman, Alexander
AU - Hao, Li
AU - Henn, Brenna M.
AU - Burns, Edward
AU - Bustamante, Carlos D.
AU - Comas, David
AU - Friedman, Eitan
AU - Pe'er, Itsik
AU - Ostrer, Harry
PY - 2012/8/21
Y1 - 2012/8/21
N2 - North African Jews constitute the second largest Jewish Diaspora group. However, their relatedness to each other; to European, Middle Eastern, and other Jewish Diaspora groups; and to their former North African non-Jewish neighbors has not been well defined. Here, genome-wide analysis of five North African Jewish groups (Moroccan, Algerian, Tunisian, Djerban, and Libyan) and comparison with other Jewish and non-Jewish groups demonstrated distinctive North African Jewish population clusters with proximity to other Jewish populations and variable degrees of Middle Eastern, European, and North African admixture. Two major subgroups were identified by principal component, neighbor joining tree, and identity-by-descent analysis - Moroccan/ Algerian and Djerban/Libyan - that varied in their degree of European admixture. These populations showed a high degree of endogamy and were part of a larger Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jewish group. By principal component analysis, these North African groups were orthogonal to contemporary populations from North and South Morocco, Western Sahara, Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt. Thus, this study is compatible with the history of North African Jews - founding during Classical Antiquity with proselytism of local populations, followed by genetic isolation with the rise of Christianity and then Islam, and admixture following the emigration of Sephardic Jews during the Inquisition.
AB - North African Jews constitute the second largest Jewish Diaspora group. However, their relatedness to each other; to European, Middle Eastern, and other Jewish Diaspora groups; and to their former North African non-Jewish neighbors has not been well defined. Here, genome-wide analysis of five North African Jewish groups (Moroccan, Algerian, Tunisian, Djerban, and Libyan) and comparison with other Jewish and non-Jewish groups demonstrated distinctive North African Jewish population clusters with proximity to other Jewish populations and variable degrees of Middle Eastern, European, and North African admixture. Two major subgroups were identified by principal component, neighbor joining tree, and identity-by-descent analysis - Moroccan/ Algerian and Djerban/Libyan - that varied in their degree of European admixture. These populations showed a high degree of endogamy and were part of a larger Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jewish group. By principal component analysis, these North African groups were orthogonal to contemporary populations from North and South Morocco, Western Sahara, Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt. Thus, this study is compatible with the history of North African Jews - founding during Classical Antiquity with proselytism of local populations, followed by genetic isolation with the rise of Christianity and then Islam, and admixture following the emigration of Sephardic Jews during the Inquisition.
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U2 - 10.1073/pnas.1204840109
DO - 10.1073/pnas.1204840109
M3 - Article
C2 - 22869716
AN - SCOPUS:84865288616
SN - 0027-8424
VL - 109
SP - 13865
EP - 13870
JO - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
JF - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
IS - 34
ER -