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Family Tree DNA's haplogroup description of M: Haplogroup M cluster has been characterized as generally of east Eurasia—a geographic region that includes south Asia, east Asia, and Australasia. One of the two deep roots of the mitochondrial tree of haplogroups found in Asia, haplogroup M dates to approximately 70,000 years ago. Interestingly, one of the sub-haplogroups of the M cluster, haplogroup M1, is found primarily in northern Africa, suggesting either a very early divergence from the root of haplogroup M or even migration back to Africa after the original dispersal into Eurasia. Future work will further document the historical distribution of this root haplogroup and closely related haplogroups within the M cluster.


ADDITIONAL SCIENTIFIC RESOURCES Genetic Affinities of the Andaman Islanders,a Vanishing Human Population by K. Thangaraj, et al. EXCERPT:"The present-day Andamanese, bar the four Jarawa, were tested for the presence of the intergenic 9-base pair (9-bp) deletion common in Asian populations [11] and for their allelic status at position 10400, a C to T transition that defines the major “Asian” haplogroup M [12]. None of the Andamanese exhibited the 9-bp deletion. All but two of the Andamanese had the 10400T substitution, indicating that they belonged to haplogroup M. Seven of the Andamanese (four Onge and three Great Andamanese) were analyzed further by DNA sequencing of selected mtDNA coding sites to investigate their affinity to previously identified subclades of haplogroup M, characterized by substitutions at the following sites: positions 6446, 6680, 12403, and 14110 [13], which define the M1 haplogroup in Ethiopia; position 11946, which defines the M1 and M2 haplogroups in India and the Philippines [13]; sites 153 and 3394 (M9), 4715 and 15487 (M8), 4833 (G), 5178 (D), 9824 (M7), and 10646 (M10), which define various M subgroups (shown in parentheses) observed in Han Chinese [14]; sites 7598, specific to haplogroup E of Borneo and Malaysia, and 16144, which defines haplogroup Q, a subclade of M common in Papua New Guinea. The seven Andamanese were identical to the mtDNA reference [15] at these sites and lacked the substitutions known to define previously observed M subclades". Pg 2 [2002] http://hpgl.stanford.edu/publications/CB_2002_p1-18.pdf Mitochondrial haplogroup M discovered in prehistoric North Americans by R. Malhi, et al. [2006] Italian mitochondrial DNA database: results of a collaborative exercise and proficiency testing by C. Turchi, et al. EXCERPT: "Two Asian hg [45, 46] were also discovered: hg M (0.25%) and D (0.75%)". Pg 5 [2006] A database of mitochondrial DNA hypervariable regions I and II sequences of individuals from Slovakia by I. Lehocky, et al. Pg 4 [2008] SEQUENCES: M* 223-362 73-207-263-309.1C-315.1C M* 223-362 73-263-309.1C-315.1C M5 129-223-291 73-263-309.1C-315.1C M5 129-223-291-298 73-263-309.1C-315.1C M5 129-223-291-298 73-263-309.1C-309.2C-315.1C