Human Y chromosome haplogroup L1-M22 traces Neolithic expansion in West Asia and supports the Elamite and Dravidian connection
Ajai Kumar Pathak,
Hovann Simonian,
Ibrahim Abdel Aziz Ibrahim,
Peter Hrechdakian,
Doron M. Behar,
Qasim Ayub,
Pakhrudin Arsanov,
Ene Metspalu,
Levon Yepiskoposyan,
Siiri Rootsi,
Phillip Endicott,
Richard Villems,
Hovhannes Sahakyan
Affiliations
Ajai Kumar Pathak
Estonian Biocentre, Institute of Genomics, University of Tartu, 51010 Tartu, Estonia; Department of Human Genetics, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; Corresponding author
Hovann Simonian
Armenian DNA Project at Family Tree DNA, Houston, TX 77008, USA
Ibrahim Abdel Aziz Ibrahim
Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah 21955, Saudi Arabia
Peter Hrechdakian
Armenian DNA Project at Family Tree DNA, Houston, TX 77008, USA
Doron M. Behar
Estonian Biocentre, Institute of Genomics, University of Tartu, 51010 Tartu, Estonia
Qasim Ayub
Monash University Malaysia Genomics Platform, School of Science, Monash University, Bandar Sunway, Selangor Darul Ehsan 47500, Malaysia
Pakhrudin Arsanov
Chechen-Noahcho DNA Project at Family Tree DNA, Kostanay 110008, Kazakhstan
Ene Metspalu
Estonian Biocentre, Institute of Genomics, University of Tartu, 51010 Tartu, Estonia
Levon Yepiskoposyan
Laboratory of Evolutionary Genomics, Institute of Molecular Biology of National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia, Yerevan 0014, Armenia
Siiri Rootsi
Estonian Biocentre, Institute of Genomics, University of Tartu, 51010 Tartu, Estonia
Phillip Endicott
Estonian Biocentre, Institute of Genomics, University of Tartu, 51010 Tartu, Estonia; Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, Bournemouth University, Fern Barrow, Poole, Dorset BH12 5BB, UK; Department of Linguistics, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, Honolulu, Hawai’i 96822, USA; DFG Center for Advanced Studies, University of Tübingen, 72074 Tübingen, Germany
Richard Villems
Estonian Biocentre, Institute of Genomics, University of Tartu, 51010 Tartu, Estonia
Hovhannes Sahakyan
Estonian Biocentre, Institute of Genomics, University of Tartu, 51010 Tartu, Estonia; Laboratory of Evolutionary Genomics, Institute of Molecular Biology of National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia, Yerevan 0014, Armenia; Corresponding author
Summary: West and South Asian populations profoundly influenced Eurasian genetic and cultural diversity. We investigate the genetic history of the Y chromosome haplogroup L1-M22, which, while prevalent in these regions, lacks in-depth study. Robust Bayesian analyses of 165 high-coverage Y chromosomes favor a West Asian origin for L1-M22 ∼20.6 thousand years ago (kya). Moreover, this haplogroup parallels the genome-wide genetic ancestry of hunter-gatherers from the Iranian Plateau and the Caucasus. We characterized two L1-M22 harboring population groups during the Early Holocene. One expanded with the West Asian Neolithic transition. The other moved to South Asia ∼8-6 kya but showed no expansion. This group likely participated in the spread of Dravidian languages. These South Asian L1-M22 lineages expanded ∼4-3 kya, coinciding with the Steppe ancestry introduction. Our findings advance the current understanding of Eurasian historical dynamics, emphasizing L1-M22’s West Asian origin, associated population movements, and possible linguistic impacts.
