Litvinov - resurgence of hunter-gatherer mtDNA ancestry

[GailT]

David points out ( http://eurogenes.blogspot.co.uk/2015...abstracts.html ) a couple of abstracts on modern Slavic DNA from Ninth ISABS Conference on Forensic and Anthropologic Genetics (22-26 June 2015)

Abstract number: ABS-380-ISABS-2015

A MITOGENOMIC PHYLOGENY OF MACROHAPLOGROUP U AND SIGNALS FOR POPULATION EXPANSIONS IN EUROPE
A. Litvinov et al.

Detailed analysis of complete mtDNAs allowed us to identify a number of mitochondrial lineages that seem specific for Slavic- and Germanic-speaking peoples or both. These subhaplogroups consist of similar haplotypes revealed in different ethnic groups of modern Slavic or Germanic peoples. Evolutionary age of Slavic-specific subhaplogroups (such as U2e1b1, U3b1b, U5a1c1, U5a2a1b, U5b1a1) varied from 1.3 to 3.9 kya, according to the mutation rate for the entire mtDNA molecule. Subhaplogroups frequent among Eastern Europeans (U3a1a, U4a2a, U4a2g, U4d1, U5a1a2a) dated to 4.6-7.7 kya. Subhaplogroups found mostly among the Germanic-speaking populations (U5a1a1d, U5a1h, U5b2a1a1, U5b2a2, U5b2b4) were slightly older, with the age varying from 3.5 to 10.7 kya. The age of subhaplogroups, which are characteristic for both Slavic and Germanic populations (U2e1g, U2e2a1, U4a2b, U4c2, U5a1b1c, U5a2b1, U5b1e, U5b2a2b1), varied from 2.9 to 8.4 kya. The results obtained indicate that a resurgence of hunter-gatherer ancestry (in the form of mtDNA lineages belonging to haplogroups U2e, U4, U5a and U5b) had occurred in Central and Eastern Europe beginning from the Neolithic period, consistent with recent genome-wide data from ancient Europeans.

This seems consistent with Jean's revenge of the "hunter-gatherers". I think some of the specific conclusions are off, e.g., U5a1c1 is not just Slavic, as it also includes FTDNA customers from France, Scotland, England and Sweden. But the general outline seems accurate, e.g., U5a1c originating in southern Europe at the end of the LGM, expanding into central and eastern Europe with hunter-gatherers, and these eastern hunter-gatherers later returning to central and western Europe. I think the key question is whether specific subclades such as U5a1c1 can be linked to specific Neolithic cultures and migrations? Did they migrate from eastern Europe to central and western Europe in the early or late Neolithic or the Bronze age?

[Generalissimo]

Slavic-specific doesn't mean it's just Slavic, but that its characteristic of Slavs.

[J Man]

No U5b2c listed at all.

[Krefter]

U5 frequencies went from just above 2% in the Early Neolithic to just over 10% in the Middle Neolithic. A resurgence of hunter gatherer mtDNA is confirmed by Ancient mtDNA, as with Y DNA and autosomal DNA. Middle Neolithic Farmer genomes are ~1/4 Hunter Gatherer, but when WHG from the Balkans is added, even more. Although, I think many of the U subclades listed in this abstract arrived with Yamnaya types from Far-East Europe.

It'll be interesting to see if U diversity is mostly a remnant of the U diversity that existed when Neolithic farmers arrived. That would make sense. Many of the typical modern Central-European U5 clades have already been found in samples from Mesolithic Germany and Croatia. Of course though as Farmers moved from Greece all the way to near the edges of Europe, they brought brought U subclades from all over the place. Also, as ANE-rich Bronze age groups moved west they also brought U clades from everywhere.