Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Mitochondrial and Y Chromosome Diversity in the English‐Speaking Caribbean

Mitochondrial and Y Chromosome Diversity in the English‐Speaking Caribbean The transatlantic slave trade lasted over three centuries and represents one of the largest forced migrations in human history. The biological repercussions are not well understood especially in African‐Caribbean populations. This paper explores the effects of the forced migration, isolation, and admixture on genetic diversity using mitochondrial and Y chromosome markers for 501 individuals from Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St. Thomas, St. Vincent, and Trinidad. Genetic diversity and population genetic structure analyses of mitochondrial data and Y chromosome data indicate that there was no post‐migration loss in genetic diversity in the African derived lineages. Genetic structure was observed between the islands for both genetic systems. This may be due to isolation, differences in the number and source of Africans imported, depopulation of indigenous populations, and/or differences in colonization history. Nearly 10% of the individuals belonged to a non‐African mitochondrial haplogroup. In contrast, Y chromosome admixture estimates showed that there was nearly 30% European contribution to these Caribbean populations. This study sheds light on the history of Africans in the Americas as well as contributing to our understanding of the nature and extent of diversity within the African Diaspora. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Annals of Human Genetics Wiley

Mitochondrial and Y Chromosome Diversity in the English‐Speaking Caribbean

Loading next page...
 
/lp/wiley/mitochondrial-and-y-chromosome-diversity-in-the-english-speaking-G7o89SISix

References (54)

Publisher
Wiley
Copyright
Copyright © 2007 Wiley Subscription Services
ISSN
0003-4800
eISSN
1469-1809
DOI
10.1111/j.1469-1809.2007.00380.x
pmid
17596204
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

The transatlantic slave trade lasted over three centuries and represents one of the largest forced migrations in human history. The biological repercussions are not well understood especially in African‐Caribbean populations. This paper explores the effects of the forced migration, isolation, and admixture on genetic diversity using mitochondrial and Y chromosome markers for 501 individuals from Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St. Thomas, St. Vincent, and Trinidad. Genetic diversity and population genetic structure analyses of mitochondrial data and Y chromosome data indicate that there was no post‐migration loss in genetic diversity in the African derived lineages. Genetic structure was observed between the islands for both genetic systems. This may be due to isolation, differences in the number and source of Africans imported, depopulation of indigenous populations, and/or differences in colonization history. Nearly 10% of the individuals belonged to a non‐African mitochondrial haplogroup. In contrast, Y chromosome admixture estimates showed that there was nearly 30% European contribution to these Caribbean populations. This study sheds light on the history of Africans in the Americas as well as contributing to our understanding of the nature and extent of diversity within the African Diaspora.

Journal

Annals of Human GeneticsWiley

Published: Jan 1, 2007

Keywords: ; ; ;

There are no references for this article.