European genes

26 March 2009

A study of DNA samples from over 1000 Spanish and Portuguese men reveals that one in five has a Jewish paternal ancestor and one in ten has North African paternal ancestry.

The researchers, led by Professor Mark Jobling from the University of Leicester, suggest that this is the result of a history of religious persecution, culminating in the Spanish Inquisition’s activities in the 15th century, which forced Muslims and Sephardic Jews in the region to convert, leave or be killed. The integration of those who converted into the population left a lasting genetic legacy.

Separately, a team of researchers have used samples from the Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium to show a strong correlation between the genetics and physical location of Europeans. This could be used to map where unknown genome samples come from. The study confirms gradients of genetic variation spanning from Russia to Spain, and from Norway and Sweden to Romania and Spain.

The authors say that their method could aid disease association studies, allowing scientists to predict the ethnic origin of samples without the need for genotype data from individuals. Newly genotyped samples from people with a particular disease can also be matched to pre-existing control samples, avoiding the need for expensive collection and genotyping of additional controls.

References

Adams SM et al. The genetic legacy of religious diversity and intolerance: paternal lineages of Christians, Jews, and Muslims in the Iberian peninsula. Am J Hum Genet 2008;83(6):725-36.

Heath SC et al. Investigation of the fine structure of European populations with applications to disease association studies. Eur J Hum Genet 2008;16(12):1413-29.