Hypothesized map of human migration based on mitochondrial DNA.
Another model of human migration based on Mitochondrial DNA
In
human genetics, a
human mitochondrial DNA haplogroup is a
haplogroup defined by differences in
human mitochondrial DNA. Haplogroups are used to represent the major branch points on the mitochondrial phylogenetic tree. Understanding the evolutionary path of the female lineage has helped population geneticists trace the
matrilineal inheritance of modern humans back to human origins in
Africa and the subsequent spread across the globe.
However Balloux et al. (2009) have shown that mtDNA also correlates with climate and that temperature-based
natural selection has helped shape global mtDNA patterns so that the assumption of pure
genetic drift may be incorrect.
The letter names of the haplogroups run from A to Z. As haplogroups were named in the order of their discovery, they do not reflect the actual genetic relationships.
The woman at the root of all these groups is the
matrilineal most recent common ancestor (MRCA) for
all currently living humans. She is commonly called
Mitochondrial Eve.
Evolutionary relationship
Lineage Perspective
This phylogenetic tree is based on the Van Oven 2009 tree and subsequent published research.
- *********R0 (FMKA pre-HV)
Table Perspective
See also
