New Insights into the Lake Chad Basin Population Structure Revealed by High-Throughput Genotyping of Mitochondrial DNA Coding SNPs

Located in the Sudan belt, the Chad Basin forms a remarkable ecosystem, where several unique agricultural and pastoral techniques have been developed. Both from an archaeological and a genetic point of view, this region has been interpreted to be the center of a bidirectional corridor connecting West and East Africa, as well as a meeting point for populations coming from North Africa through the Saharan desert.