Seventy three nuclear DNA polymorphisms in a Spanish population: A world wide comparison with ten other human populations

Abstract

An anthropologically well-defined Spanish sample from La Alpujarra (SE Spain) was analyzed for 73 nuclear DNA polymorphisms. The population was chosen on the basis of available information on its history and demographic characteristics making it suitable for comparisons with data from North African populations. The Moslem invasion in this area was longer than anywhere in the Iberian Peninsula (more than nine centuries). The markers analyzed have been studied previously in 10 human populations from different continents. The Alpujarrenian population was checked for these markers and it is the one with the highest number of chromosomes analyzed. Two new alleles were sized and heterozygosity levels were very similar to other European populations. Genetic distances closely matched geographical relationships both with neighbor joining tree and principal component analysis. Allele distributions revealed specific associations with some populations. This work reveals the importance of these markers for evolutionary studies of human populations.