TY - JOUR
T1 - Mitochondrial DNA variation of modern Tuscans supports the Near Eastern origin of Etruscans
AU - Achilli, Alessandro
AU - Olivieri, Anna
AU - Pala, Maria
AU - Metspalu, Ene
AU - Fornarino, Simona
AU - Battaglia, Vincenza
AU - Accetturo, Matteo
AU - Kutuev, Ildus
AU - Khusnutdinova, Elsa
AU - Pennarun, Erwan
AU - Cerutti, Nicoletta
AU - Di Gaetano, Cornelia
AU - Crobu, Francesca
AU - Palli, Domenico
AU - Matullo, Giuseppe
AU - Santachiara-Benerecetti, A. Silvana
AU - Cavalli-Sforza, L. Luca
AU - Semino, Ornella
AU - Villems, Richard
AU - Bandelt, Hans Jürgen
AU - Piazza, Alberto
AU - Torroni, Antonio
PY - 2007/4/1
Y1 - 2007/4/1
N2 - The origin of the Etruscan people has been a source of major controversy for the past 2,500 years, and several hypotheses have been proposed to explain their language and sophisticated culture, including an Aegean/Anatolian origin. To address this issue, we analyzed the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of 322 subjects from three well-defined areas of Tuscany and compared their sequence variation with that of 55 western Eurasian populations. Interpopulation comparisons reveal that the modern population of Murlo, a small town of Etruscan origin, is characterized by an unusually high frequency (17.5%) of Near Eastern mtDNA haplogroups. Each of these haplogroups is represented by different haplotypes, thus dismissing the possibility that the genetic allocation of the Murlo people is due to drift. Other Tuscan populations do not show the same striking feature; however, overall, ∼5% of mtDNA haplotypes in Tuscany are shared exclusively between Tuscans and Near Easterners and occupy terminal positions in the phylogeny. These findings support a direct and rather recent genetic input from the Near East-a scenario in agreement with the Lydian origin of Etruscans. Such a genetic contribution has been extensively diluted by admixture, but it appears that there are still locations in Tuscany, such as Murlo, where traces of its arrival are easily detectable.
AB - The origin of the Etruscan people has been a source of major controversy for the past 2,500 years, and several hypotheses have been proposed to explain their language and sophisticated culture, including an Aegean/Anatolian origin. To address this issue, we analyzed the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of 322 subjects from three well-defined areas of Tuscany and compared their sequence variation with that of 55 western Eurasian populations. Interpopulation comparisons reveal that the modern population of Murlo, a small town of Etruscan origin, is characterized by an unusually high frequency (17.5%) of Near Eastern mtDNA haplogroups. Each of these haplogroups is represented by different haplotypes, thus dismissing the possibility that the genetic allocation of the Murlo people is due to drift. Other Tuscan populations do not show the same striking feature; however, overall, ∼5% of mtDNA haplotypes in Tuscany are shared exclusively between Tuscans and Near Easterners and occupy terminal positions in the phylogeny. These findings support a direct and rather recent genetic input from the Near East-a scenario in agreement with the Lydian origin of Etruscans. Such a genetic contribution has been extensively diluted by admixture, but it appears that there are still locations in Tuscany, such as Murlo, where traces of its arrival are easily detectable.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=34147177036&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1086/512822
DO - 10.1086/512822
M3 - Article
C2 - 17357081
AN - SCOPUS:34147177036
VL - 80
SP - 759
EP - 768
JO - American Journal of Human Genetics
JF - American Journal of Human Genetics
SN - 0002-9297
IS - 4
ER -