The Genetic Legacy of Religious Diversity and Intolerance: Paternal Lineages of Christians, Jews, and Muslims in the Iberian Peninsula

Susan M Adams,Andrew C Lee,Mark A Jobling,Doron M Behar,Francesc Calafell,Marina S Gisbert Grifo,João Lavinha,Elena Bosch,Karl Skorecki,Eduardo Arroyo,Stéphane Ballereau ,Begoña Martı́nez-Jarreta ,Meike Ramon ,A Picornell ,Marı́a Brión ,M Aler ,Ana Marı́a López-Parra ,Ángel Carracedo ,Lluís Quintana‐Murci ,Patricia Balaresque

doi:10.1016/j.ajhg.2008.11.007

Abstract

Most studies of European genetic diversity have focused on large-scale variation and interpretations based on events in prehistory, but migrations and invasions in historical times could also have had profound effects on the genetic landscape. The Iberian Peninsula provides a suitable region for examination of the demographic impact of such recent events, because its complex recent history has involved the long-term residence of two very different populations with distinct geographical origins and their own particular cultural and religious characteristics—North African Muslims and Sephardic Jews. To address this issue, we analyzed Y chromosome haplotypes, which provide the necessary phylogeographic resolution, in 1140 males from the Iberian Peninsula and Balearic Islands. Admixture analysis based on binary and Y-STR haplotypes indicates a high mean proportion of ancestry from North African (10.6%) and Sephardic Jewish (19.8%) sources. Despite alternative possible sources for lineages ascribed a Sephardic Jewish origin, these proportions attest to a high level of religious conversion (whether voluntary or enforced), driven by historical episodes of social and religious intolerance, that ultimately led to the integration of descendants. In agreement with the historical record, analysis of haplotype sharing and diversity within specific haplogroups suggests that the Sephardic Jewish component is the more ancient. The geographical distribution of North African ancestry in the peninsula does not reflect the initial colonization and subsequent withdrawal and is likely to result from later enforced population movement—more marked in some regions than in others—plus the effects of genetic drift.

Highlights

The genetic diversity of human populations in Europe has been the subject of intense scrutiny since the first ‘‘classical’’ markers became available.[1]
To consider the contribution of Sephardic Jewish populations to the modern Iberian Peninsula, we compiled a set of 174 Y haplotypes from self-defined Sephardic males with ancestry in Mediterranean countries
African chromosomes belong to this haplogroup, but 7/48 haplotypes are shared between Sephardic Jewish and Iberian chromosomes, and the respective Average square difference (ASD) values are similar, at 14.00 and 15.10

Summary

Introduction

The genetic diversity of human populations in Europe has been the subject of intense scrutiny since the first ‘‘classical’’ markers became available.[1]. Europe has been subject to migrations and invasions within historical times, and these may have played an important role in shaping current patterns of diversity[14] and could contribute to confusion over more ancient population movement. Genetic analysis of modern populations can offer a more direct approach to recognizing the impact of migrations and invasions in historical times, especially when source populations for migrations are clearly differentiated from recipient populations. The Iberian Peninsula is of particular interest in this context, because it has a complex recent history over the last two millennia, involving the long-term residence of two very different populations with very distinct geographical origins and their own particular cultural and religious characteristics—North African Muslims and Sephardic Jews.[15]

Methods

Results

Conclusion