Human Mitochondrial DNA and the Evolution of Homo sapiens
Mitochondrial DNA is one of the most explored genetic systems because of what it can tell us about the human past. This volume takes a unique perspective, presenting the disparate strands that must be tied together to exploit this system. From molecular b
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Series Editor H. J. Gross
Hans-Ju¨ rgen Bandelt
Vincent Macaulay
Martin Richards (Eds.)
Human Mitochondrial DNA and the Evolution of Homo sapiens
With 31 Figures, and 10 Tables
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Professor Hans-J¨ urgen Bandelt University of Hamburg Department of Mathematics Bundestr. 55 20146 Hamburg Germany
Dr. Martin Richards University of Leeds Institute of Integrative & Comparative Biology Faculty of Biological Sciences Leeds, LS2 9JT UK
Dr. Vincent Macaulay University of Glasgow Department of Statistics University Avenue Glasgow, G12 8QQ UK
ISSN 0933-1891 ISBN-10 3-540-31788-0 Springer Berlin Heidelberg New York ISBN-13 978-3-540-31788-3 Springer Berlin Heidelberg New York Library of Congress Control Number: 2006922802 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilm or in any other way, and storage in data banks. Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the German Copyright Law of September 9, 1965, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer. Violations are liable for prosecution under the German Copyright Law. Springer is a part of Springer Science+Business Media springeronline.com © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2006 Printed in Germany The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. Production and typesetting: LE-TEX Jelonek, Schmidt & Vöckler GbR, 04229 Leipzig Cover design: design & production GmbH, 69126 Heidelberg Printed on acid-free paper
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Preface
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is, compared to our total genome, only a tiny molecule. Yet deciphering its evolution has profoundly changed our perception about how modern humans spread across our planet. Analysis of mtDNA variation has matured in the course of the past 20 years and has become a versatile tool in the study of our species for the time horizon of the last 100,000 years or so, as well as our relationship to other species. In this time, it has effectively come of age, although the process has perhaps been rather more fraught than any growing marker system might have the right to expect. By comparison, the Y chromosome has matured in a rather more genteel fashion. We might say that whereas mtDNA’s youth was more one of wild living and riotous conflict, the Y chromosome was born middle-aged. These two markers together, though, deserve their special role in unravelling the evolutionary history of humanity. In contrast to traditional genetic markers residing in the nuclear DNA of the autosomal chromosomes, mtDNA is not reshuffled from generation to generation, but is inherited purely along the maternal line of descent (except in
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