Major genomic mitochondrial lineages delineate early human expansions

We show the relative relationships among the 42 lineages and present more accurate temporal calibrations than have been previously possible to give new perspectives as how modern humans spread in the Old World.The first detectable expansion occurred around 59,000–69,000 years ago from Africa, independently colonizing western Asia and India and, following this southern route, swiftly reaching east Asia. Within Africa, this expansion did not replace but mixed with older lineages detectable today only in Africa. Around 39,000–52,000 years ago, the western Asian branch spread radially, bringing Caucasians to North Africa and Europe, also reaching India, and expanding to north and east Asia. More recent migrations have entangled but not completely erased these primitive footprints of modern human expansions.Human mtDNA is a non-recombining molecule with maternal inheritance and practically haploid genetics. Differences between mtDNA sequences are only due to mutation. As time passes, mutations accumulate sequentially along less and less related molecules that constitute independent lineages known as haplotypes. Relationships among lineages can be estimated by phylogenetic networks [1] where mutations are classified in hierarchical levels. Basal mutations are shared for clusters of lineages, defined as haplogroups, whereas those at the tips characterize individuals. Major haplogroups [2] are continental or ethnically specific. Three of them (L1, L2, and L3) group sub-Saharan African lineages, nine (H, I, J, K, T, U, V, W and X) encompass almost all mtDNAs from European, North African and Western Asian Caucasians. Finally, haplogroups A, B, C, D, E, F, G and M embrace the majority of the lineages described for Asia, Oceania and native Americans. The geographic distribution of derived branches of these haplogroups has shed light on crucial aspects of human history, such as the probable origin and approximate dating of migrations into the New World [3] and Polynesia [4,5], a