Haplogroup J-M304, also known as J,[Phylogenetics 1] is a human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup. It is believed to have evolved in Western Asia.[2] The clade spread from there during the Neolithic, primarily into North Africa, the Horn of Africa, the Socotra Archipelago, the Caucasus, Europe, Anatolia, Central Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.

Quick Facts Possible time of origin, Coalescence age ...
Haplogroup J-M304
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Possible time of origin42,900 years ago[1]
Coalescence age31,600 years ago[1]
Possible place of originWestern Asia
AncestorIJ
DescendantsJ-M172, J-M267
Defining mutationsM304/Page16/PF4609, 12f2.1
Highest frequenciesIngush, Chechens, Avars, Dargins, Arabs, Persians, Assyrians, Jews, Greeks, Georgians, Arameans, Melkites, Mandeans, Italians, Cypriots
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Haplogroup J-M304 is divided into two main subclades (branches), J-M267 and J-M172.

Origins

Haplogroup J-M304 is believed to have split from the haplogroup I-M170 roughly 43,000 years ago in Western Asia,[1] as both lineages are haplogroup IJ subclades. Haplogroup IJ and haplogroup K derive from haplogroup IJK, and only at this level of classification does haplogroup IJK join with Haplogroup G-M201 and Haplogroup H as immediate descendants of Haplogroup F-M89. J-M304 (Transcaucasian origin) is defined by the M304 genetic marker, or the equivalent 12f2.1 marker. The main current subgroups J-M267 (Armenian highlands origin) and J-M172 (Zagros mountains origin), which now comprise between them almost all of the haplogroup's descendant lineages, are both believed to have arisen very early, at least 10,000 years ago. Nonetheless, Y-chromosomes F-M89* and IJ-M429* were reported to have been observed in the Iranian plateau (Grugni et al. 2012).

On the other hand, it would seem to be that different episodes of populace movement had impacted southeast Europe, as well as the role of the Balkans as a long-standing corridor to Europe from the Near East is shown by the phylogenetic unification of Hgs I and J by the basal M429 mutation. This proof of common ancestry suggests that ancestral Hgs IJ-M429* probably would have entered Europe through the Balkan track sometime before the LGM. They then subsequently split into Hg J and Hg I in Middle East and Europe in a typical disjunctive phylogeographic pattern. Such a geographic hall[clarification needed] is prone to have encountered extra consequent gene streams, including the horticultural settlers. Moreover, the unification of haplogroups IJK creates evolutionary distance from F–H delegates, as well as supporting the inference that both IJ-M429 and KT-M9 arose closer to the Middle East than Central or East Asia.[citation needed]

Haplogroup J has also been found among two ancient Egyptian mummies excavated at the Abusir el-Meleq archaeological site in Middle Egypt, which date from a period between the late New Kingdom and the Roman era.[3]

Distribution

Haplogroup J-M267 is found in its greatest concentration in the Arabian Peninsula. Outside of this region, haplogroup J-M304 has a significant presence in other parts of the Middle East as well as in North Africa, the Horn of Africa, and the Caucasus. It also has a moderate occurrence in Southern Europe, especially in central and southern Italy, Malta, Greece and Albania. The J-M410 subclade is mostly distributed in Asia Minor, Greece and southern Italy. Additionally, J-M304 is observed in Central Asia and South Asia, particularly in the form of its subclade J-M172. J-12f2 and J-P19 are also found among the Herero (8%).[4]

More information Country/Region, Sampling ...
Country/Region Sampling N J-M267 J-M172 Total J Study
AlgeriaOran10222.54.927.4Robino 2008
AlbaniaTirana3020.0Bosch 2006
Albania5523.64Battaglia 2008
BosniaSerbs819.9Battaglia 2008
CaucasusChechen33020.956.777.6Balanovsky 2011
CaucasusIngush1432.888.891.6Balanovsky 2011
ChinaUygur50034.034.0Shou 2010
ChinaUzbek23030.434.7Shou 2010
ChinaTajik31016.116.1Shou 2010
ChinaHan Chinese301010Xue 2006[verification needed]
Cyprus1649.612.922.5El-Sibai 2009[5]
Egypt12419.87.627.4El-Sibai 2009
GreeceCrete/Heraklion1041.944.246.1Martinez 2007
GreeceCrete1433.53538.5El-Sibai 2009
Greece1541.918.120El-Sibai 2009
IndiaSunni and North Indian Shia1123243.275.2El-Sibai 2009
Iran923.22528.2El-Sibai 2009
IraqArab and Assyrian11733.125.158.2El-Sibai 2009
IsraelAkko (Arabs)10139.218.657.8El-Sibai 2009
Italy69922022Capelli 2007
ItalyCentral Marche595.135.640.7Capelli 2007
ItalyWest Calabria573.535.138.6Capelli 2007
ItalySicily2125.222.627.8El-Sibai 2009
ItalySardinia814.99.914.8El-Sibai 2009
Jordan27335.514.650.1El-Sibai 2009
KosovoAlbanians11416.67Pericić 2005
Kuwait4233.39.542.8El-Sibai 2009
Lebanon9511729.446.4El-Sibai 2009
Malta907.821.128.9El-Sibai 2009
Morocco31610.21.2El-Sibai 2009
MoroccoResidents in Italy5119.6019.6Onofri 2008
PortugalPortugal3034.36.911.2El-Sibai 2009
QatarQatar7258.38.366.6El-Sibai 2009
Saudi Arabia15740.1315.9257.96Abu-Amero 2009
SerbiaBelgrade1138Pericić 2005
Serbia1795.6Mirabal 2010
SpainCadiz283.614.317.9El-Sibai 2009
SpainCantabria702.92.95.8El-Sibai 2009
SpainCastille2109.59.5El-Sibai 2009
SpainCordoba27014.714.7El-Sibai 2009
SpainGalicia195.305.3El-Sibai 2009
SpainHuelva22013.713.7El-Sibai 2009
SpainIbiza5403.73.7El-Sibai 2009
SpainLeon601.756.7El-Sibai 2009
SpainMalaga26015.415.4El-Sibai 2009
SpainMallorca621.689.7El-Sibai 2009
SpainSevilla1553.27.811El-Sibai 2009
SpainValencia312.75.58.2El-Sibai 2009
SyriaArab and Assyrian55433.620.854.4El-Sibai 2009
Tunisia62088El-Sibai 2009
Tunisia5234.63.838.4Onofri 2008
TunisiaSousse22025.98.234.1Fadhlaoui-Zid 2014
TunisiaTunis14832.43.435.8Arredi 2004
Turkey5239.124.233.3El-Sibai 2009
UAE16434.710.345El-Sibai 2009
Yemen6272.59.682.1El-Sibai 2009
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Subclade distribution

J-M304*

Paragroup J-M304*[Phylogenetics 2] includes all of J-M304 except for J-M267, J-M172 and their subclades. J-M304* is rarely found outside of the island of Socotra, belonging to Yemen, where it is extremely frequent at 71.4% and j1-267 for the rest with no j2[6] Haplogroup J-M304* also has been found with lower frequency in Oman (Di Giacomo 2004), Ashkenazi Jews,[7] Saudi Arabia (Abu-Amero 2009), Greece (Di Giacomo 2004), the Czech Republic (Di Giacomo 2004 and Luca 2007), Uygurs[8] and several Turkic peoples.[9] (Cinnioglu 2004 and Varzari 2006).

YFull[1] and FTDNA[10] have however failed to find J* people anywhere in the world although there are 2 J2-Y130506 persons and 1 J1 person from Soqotra. But Cerny 2009 study found 9 J1 persons in Soqotra/Socotra and majority of J* and no J2, hypothesizing a J1 founder effect in Socotra.

The following gives a summary of most of the studies which specifically tested for J-M267 and J-M172, showing its distribution in Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia.

J-M267

Haplogroup J-M267[Phylogenetics 3] defined by the M267 SNP is in modern times most frequent in the Arabian Peninsula: Yemen (up to 76%),[11] Saudi (up to 64%) (Alshamali 2009), Qatar (58%),[12] and Dagestan (up to 56%).[13] J-M267 is generally frequent among Arab Bedouins (62%),[14] Ashkenazi Jews (20%) (Semino 2004), Algeria (up to 35%) (Semino 2004), Iraq (28%) (Semino 2004), Tunisia (up to 31%),[15] Syria (up to 30%), Egypt (up to 20%) (Luis 2004), and the Sinai Peninsula. To some extent, the frequency of Haplogroup J-M267 collapses at the borders of Arabic/Semitic-speaking territories with mainly non-Arabic/Semitic speaking territories, such as Turkey (9%), Iran (5%), Sunni Indian Muslims (2.3%) and Northern Indian Shia (11%) (Eaaswarkhanth 2009). Some figures above tend to be the larger ones obtained in some studies, while the smaller figures obtained in other studies are omitted. It is also highly frequent among Jews, especially the Kohanim line (46%) (Hammer 2009).

ISOGG states that J-M267 originated in the Middle East. It is found in parts of the Near East, Anatolia and North Africa, with a much sparser distribution in the southern Mediterranean flank of Europe, and in Ethiopia.

But not all studies agree on the point of origin. The Levant has been proposed but a 2010 study concluded that the haplogroup had a more northern origin, possibly Anatolia.

The origin of the J-P58 subclade is likely in the more northerly populations and then spreads southward into the Arabian Peninsula. The high Y-STR variance of J-P58 in ethnic groups in Turkey, as well as northern regions in Syria and Iraq, supports the inference of an origin of J-P58 in nearby eastern Anatolia. Moreover, the network analysis of J-P58 haplotypes shows that some of the populations with low diversity, such as Bedouins from Israel, Qatar, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates, are tightly clustered near high-frequency haplotypes. This suggests that founder effects with star burst expansion into the Arabian Desert (Chiaroni 2010).

J-M172

Haplogroup J-M172[Phylogenetics 4] is found in the highest concentrations in the Caucasus and the Fertile Crescent/Iraq and is found throughout the Mediterranean (including the Italian, Balkan, Anatolian and Iberian peninsulas and North Africa) (Di Giacomo 2003).

The highest ever reported concentration of J-M172 was 72% in Northeastern Georgia (Nasidze 2004). Other high reports include Ingush 32% (Nasidze 2004), Cypriots 30-37% (Capelli 2005), Lebanese 30% (Wells et al. 2001), Assyrian, Mandean and Arab Iraqis 29.7% (Sanchez et al. 2005)[full citation needed], Syrians and Syriacs 22.5%, Kurds 24%-28%, Pashtuns 20-30%,[16]Iranians 23% (Aburto 2006), Ashkenazi Jews 24%, Palestinian Arabs 16.8%-25%, Sephardic Jews 29%[17] and North Indian Shia Muslim 18%, Chechens 26%, Balkars 24%, Yaghnobis 32%, Armenians 21-24%, and Azerbaijanis 24%-48%.

In South Asia, J2-M172 was found to be significantly higher among Dravidian castes at 19% than among Indo-European castes at 11%. J2-M172 and J-M410 is found 21% among Dravidian middle castes, followed by upper castes, 18.6%, and lower castes 14%. (Sengupta 2006)[18] Subclades of M172 such as M67 and M92 were not found in either Indian or Pakistani samples which also might hint at a partial common origin.(Sengupta 2006)[18]

According to a genetic study in China by Shou et al., J2-M172 is found with high frequency among Uygurs (17/50 = 34%) and Uzbeks (7/23 = 30.4%), moderate frequency among Pamiris (5/31 = 16.1%), and also found J-M172 in Han Chinese (10%)[19] and low frequency among Yugurs (2/32 = 6.3%) and Monguors (1/50 = 2.0%). The authors also found J-M304(xJ2-M172) with low frequency among the Russians (1/19 = 5.3%), Uzbeks (1/23 = 4.3%), Sibe people (1/32 = 3.1%), Dongxiangs (1/35 = 2.9%), and Kazakhs (1/41 = 2.4%) in Northwest China.[20] Only far northwestern ethnic minorities had haplogroup J in Xinjiang, China. Uzbeks in the sample had 30.4% J2-M172 and Tajiks of Xinjiang and Uyghurs also had it.[21]

Phylogenetics

In Y-chromosome phylogenetics, subclades are the branches of haplogroups. These subclades are also defined by single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) or unique event polymorphisms (UEPs).

Phylogenetic history

Prior to 2002, there were in academic literature at least seven naming systems for the Y-Chromosome Phylogenetic tree. This led to considerable confusion. In 2002, the major research groups came together and formed the Y-Chromosome Consortium (YCC). They published a joint paper that created a single new tree that all agreed to use. Later, a group of citizen scientists with an interest in population genetics and genetic genealogy formed a working group to create an amateur tree aiming at being above all timely. The table below brings together all of these works at the point of the landmark 2002 YCC Tree. This allows a researcher reviewing older published literature to quickly move between nomenclatures.

More information YCC 2002/2008 (Shorthand), (α) ...
YCC 2002/2008 (Shorthand) (α) (β) (γ) (δ) (ε) (ζ) (η) YCC 2002 (Longhand) YCC 2005 (Longhand) YCC 2008 (Longhand) YCC 2010r (Longhand) ISOGG 2006 ISOGG 2007 ISOGG 2008 ISOGG 2009 ISOGG 2010 ISOGG 2011 ISOGG 2012
J-12f2a9VIMed23Eu10H4BJ*JJJ------J
J-M629VIMed23Eu10H4BJ1J1aJ1aJ1a------Private
J-M1729VIMed24Eu9H4BJ2*J2J2J2------J2
J-M479VIMed24Eu9H4BJ2aJ2aJ2a1J2a4a------J2a1a
J-M689VIMed24Eu9H4BJ2bJ2bJ2a3J2a4c------J2a1c
J-M1379VIMed24Eu9H4BJ2cJ2cJ2a4J2a4h2a1------J2a1h2a1a
J-M1589VIMed24Eu9H4BJ2dJ2dJ2a5J2a4h1------J2a1h1
J-M129VIMed24Eu9H4BJ2e*J2eJ2bJ2b------J2b
J-M1029VIMed24Eu9H4BJ2e1*J2e1J2bJ2b------J2b
J-M999VIMed24Eu9H4BJ2e1aJ2e1aJ2b2aJ2b2a------Private
J-M679VIMed24Eu9H4BJ2f*J2fJ2a2J2a4b------J2a1b
J-M929VIMed24Eu9H4BJ2f1J2f1J2a2aJ2a4b1------J2a1b1
J-M1639VIMed24Eu9H4BJ2f2J2f2J2a2bJ2a4b2------Private
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Research publications

The following research teams per their publications were represented in the creation of the YCC tree.

Phylogenetic trees

There are several confirmed and proposed phylogenetic trees available for haplogroup J-M304. The scientifically accepted one is the Y-Chromosome Consortium (YCC) one published in Karafet 2008 and subsequently updated. A draft tree that shows emerging science is provided by Thomas Krahn at the Genomic Research Center in Houston, Texas. The International Society of Genetic Genealogy (ISOGG) also provides an amateur tree.

The Genomic Research Center draft tree

This is Thomas Krahn at the Genomic Research Center's Draft tree Proposed Tree for haplogroup J-P209 (Krahn & FTDNA 2013). For brevity, only the first three levels of subclades are shown.

  • J-M304 12f2a, 12f2.1, M304, P209, L60, L134
    • M267, L255, L321, L765, L814, L827, L1030
      • M62
      • M365.1
      • L136, L572, L620
        • M390
        • P56
        • P58, L815, L828
        • L256
      • Z1828, Z1829, Z1832, Z1833, Z1834, Z1836, Z1839, Z1840, Z1841, Z1843, Z1844
        • Z1842
        • L972
    • M172, L228
      • M410, L152, L212, L505, L532, L559
        • M289
        • L26, L27, L927
        • L581
      • M12, M102, M221, M314, L282
        • M205
        • M241

The Y-Chromosome Consortium tree

This is the official scientific tree produced by the Y-Chromosome Consortium (YCC). The last major update was in 2008 (Karafet 2008). Subsequent updates have been quarterly and biannual. The current (2022) version is of the 2019/2020 update.

Prominent members of J

See also

Genetics

Y-DNA J subclades

References

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