Mitochondrial DNA haplogroup study: residents of Sulaymaniyah city in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region may be genetically closer to European lineage

Han Nihad Mohammed Fadhl,Farhad M Abdulkarim,Shad Arif Mohammed

doi:10.1186/s41935-021-00246-2

Han Nihad Mohammed Fadhl, Farhad M Abdulkarim + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s41935-021-00246-2

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Abstract

BackgroundBeing the native inhabitants of the Neolithic Fertile Crescent, Kurds were included in several maternal lineage studies concerning the Eurasian population. However, no study was performed on the Kurdish population of Sulaymaniyah city (latitude 33.314690 and longitude 44.376759). This study was carried out on a sample of Sorani Kurds living in Sulaymaniyah for the identification of population-related single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and modes of maternal lineage.ResultsIn this study, 36 randomly selected healthy unrelated Kurdish subjects were enrolled. Whole mitochondrial DNA sequencing was performed. HaploGrep 2.0 and neutrality test (Tajima’s D) were employed for haplogroup identification and historical demography determination. When the outcomes were compared with previous studies in Kurds and the neighbouring nations, the identified haplogroups in the sample of study were members of the Western Eurasian haplogroups with a predominance of haplogroup H.ConclusionsThe whole mitochondrial DNA sequence is superior to the traditional analysis of the non-coding (control) region. Our study indicates a stronger relation of the studied group to the European lineage than to their neighbouring nations.

Highlights

Being the native inhabitants of the Neolithic Fertile Crescent, Kurds were included in several maternal lineage studies concerning the Eurasian population
Anthropology studies indicate that the forefathers of Kurds were the descendants of the first Neolithic Northern Fertile Crescent natives, who discovered the food production technologies mainly in Near East and Eurasia with the expansion of the first farmers towards Europe (Comas et al 2000)
A total of 36 blood samples were obtained from unrelated individuals within the centre of Sulaymaniyah city; the Kurdish ancestry of them was ascertained for three generations

Summary

Introduction

Being the native inhabitants of the Neolithic Fertile Crescent, Kurds were included in several maternal lineage studies concerning the Eurasian population. Anthropology studies indicate that the forefathers of Kurds were the descendants of the first Neolithic Northern Fertile Crescent natives, who discovered the food production technologies mainly in Near East and Eurasia with the expansion of the first farmers towards Europe (Comas et al 2000). The presence of Sumerian cuneiform writing from about 3000 BC mentioning the land of the Kurds “Land of the Kardas” is regarded as the earliest historical evidence of their existence in the area (Nasidze et al 2005). Kurds remained geographically isolated and ethnically distinct despite various invasions and hostile attacks in the region (Zarei and Rajabi-Maham 2016)

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