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Moors and Saracens in Europe: estimating the medieval North African male legacy in southern Europe.

ABSTRACT: To investigate the male genetic legacy of the Arab rule in southern Europe during medieval times, we focused on specific Northwest African haplogroups and identified evolutionary close STR-defined haplotypes in Iberia, Sicily and the Italian peninsula. Our results point to a higher recent Northwest African contribution in Iberia and Sicily in agreement with historical data. southern Italian regions known to have experienced long-term Arab presence also show an enrichment of Northwest African types. The forensic and genomic implications of these findings are discussed.

SUBMITTER: Capelli C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2947089 | biostudies-other | 2009 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Moors and Saracens in Europe: estimating the medieval North African male legacy in southern Europe.

Capelli Cristian C Onofri Valerio V Brisighelli Francesca F Boschi Ilaria I Scarnicci Francesca F Masullo Mara M Ferri Gianmarco G Tofanelli Sergio S Tagliabracci Adriano A Gusmao Leonor L Amorim Antonio A Gatto Francesco F Kirin Mirna M Merlitti Davide D Brion Maria M Verea Alejandro Blanco AB Romano Valentino V Cali Francesco F Pascali Vincenzo V

European journal of human genetics : EJHG 20090121 6

To investigate the male genetic legacy of the Arab rule in southern Europe during medieval times, we focused on specific Northwest African haplogroups and identified evolutionary close STR-defined haplotypes in Iberia, Sicily and the Italian peninsula. Our results point to a higher recent Northwest African contribution in Iberia and Sicily in agreement with historical data. southern Italian regions known to have experienced long-term Arab presence also show an enrichment of Northwest African typ ...[more]

PMID: 19156170

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