Presentation
Paternal genetic structure in contemporary Mennonite communities from the American Midwest
The 84th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists
(2015)
Abstract
Short tandem repeat (STR) markers from the non-recombining region of the Y-chromosome (NRY) are known to be informative for determining paternal genetic ancestral patterns in recently derived human populations. Mennonites represent a major branch of the Anabaptist movement that began in northern and central Europe in the 16th century and maintain a well-documented migration and genealogical history. Provided this historical information, we investigated the genetic relationship of 17 NRY STR loci within five Mennonite communities from Kansas (Alexanderwohl, Lone Tree, Garden View, and Meridian) and Nebraska (Henderson). We sought to determine if patterns of fission/fusion along familial lines persisted with paternal genetic information as evidenced through other genetic markers. NRY haplotype information was obtained for 94 individuals and genetic variation were analysed and compared across the five study populations and comparative European populations. NRY haplogroups were assigned using a Bayesian allele frequency approach. A total of 92 NRY haplotypes were detected with none shared across these communities. The most prevalent NRY haplogroup was R1b, which occurred in 56% of the entire sample. Eight additional NRY haplogroups (E1b1b, G2a, I1, I2, J2a1, L, Q, and R1a) were detected in smaller frequencies. In contrast to mtDNA, multi-dimensional scaling of NRY data displayed no patterns of population subdivision of communities into congregations. These NRY genetic profiles provide additional information regarding the recent migratory history of Mennonite communities and provide additional evidence for the fission along paternal lines resulting from disagreements over theological issues that caused families to split and form new congregations.
Keywords
- Paternal genetic ancestral patterns,
- Mennonites,
- Genetic markers
Disciplines
Publication Date
March 15, 2015
Location
St. Louis, MO
Citation Information
2015 Melton PE, Beaty KG, Mosher MJ, Crawford MH. Paternal genetic structure in contemporary Mennonite communities from the American Midwest. AJPA 156(S60):224.