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Archiver > GENEALOGY-DNA > 2008-05 > 1210387246


From: ellen Levy <>
Subject: Re: [DNA] Druze
Date: Fri, 9 May 2008 19:40:46 -0700 (PDT)
In-Reply-To: <771907.5348.qm@web52108.mail.re2.yahoo.com>


It is not always that you get to ask and then answer
your own question.

I found the study, "Origin & Diffusion of mtDNA
Haplogroup X" by Reidla. According to the author, X2
has undergone a recent population expansion into
Eurasia, probably around the LGM.

Interestingly enough, they note that the X2a clade is
composed of two distinct Native American sequences.
If I'm reading this correctly, X2a is lacking entirely
in the Old World, including in Siberia. Furthermore,
the position of X2a in the phylogenetic tree suggests
a very early split from the other X2 clades, likely at
the beginning of the expansion and spread out of the
Middle East.

If true, it would be logical to argue that X2a
developed as soon as this haplogroup hit the New
World. It would be interesting to see if the
development of this clade corresponds to timeframe
that scientists believe the New World was settled.

As an aside, I noted that the researchers in this
study acknowledged the high frequency of X2 among
Druze (also, among Georgians and Orkney Islanders).

Ellen Coffman


--- ellen Levy <> wrote:

> I'm not so sure that this can't be logically
> determined, Ann. It would depend on whether X2a
> occurs
> only in Native Americans. If so, then the answer is
> probably that it developed after reaching the New
> World, unless one could present a reasonable
> argument
> as to why the X2a lineage for some reason became
> extinct in the Old World. Otherwise, it likely
> developed in Southwest Asia and migrated to the New
> World.
>
> Is this the case? Is X2a restricted to Native
> Americans?
>
> Ellen Coffman
>
>



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