Haplogroup K or K-M9 is a genetic lineage within human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup. A sublineage of haplogroup IJK, K-M9, and its descendant clades represent a geographically widespread and diverse haplogroup. The lineages have long been found among males on every continent except Antarctica. Haplogroup K-M9 is common on all continents except Africa, and is particularly frequent in North Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Europe.
The direct descendants of haplogroup K-M9 are haplogroup K1 (L298 = P326, also known as LT) and haplogroup K2 (formerly KxLT; K-M526).
Origins Y-chromosome haplogroup K-M9 is an old lineage that arose approximately 52,000 to 54,100 years ago or may be older than 54,300 years ago. Geneticist Spencer Wells had argued that because haplogroup K-M9 has a geographically wide distribution, the lineage probably originated near the central part of this range in the Middle East or South-Central Asia, possibly in Iran or Pakistan, particularly Gilgit-Baltistan.
Basal K-M9* is exceptionally rare and under-researched; while it has been reported at very low frequencies on many continents it is not always clear if the examples concerned have been screened for subclades. Confirmed examples of K-M9* now appear to be most common amongst some populations in Island South East Asia and Melanesia; it is also found in 2% of Italians, with frequencies reaching 8% among the Ladin people. K-M9* was also found in one individual from the Spanish province of Castellón with the surname Ferrer, and is common among the Bnei Menashe, a community of Indian Jews who claim descent from one of the Lost Tribes of Israel.Bhaswar Maity, T. Sitalaximi, R. Trivedi, and V. K. Kashyap, "Tracking The Genetic Imprints of Lost Jewish Tribes Among The Gene Pool of Kuki-Chin-Mizo Population of India" , December 2004, posted at Genome Biology (not peer-reviewed), accessed 8 May 2013
The primary subclades of haplogroup LT (K1) include haplogroups L (M20), also known as K1a, and T (M184), also known as K1b; both are found at high rates in South Asia, the Middle East, and the Horn of Africa. Some subclades of LT have also been in Europe, at lower rates, since the early Neolithic period (if not earlier).
Basal K2* (K-526) has been identified mostly among indigenous Australian males, about 27% of whom carry basal K-M526*. Indigenous Australians and Papuans also carry subclades of K2b1, namely haplogroups M, also known as K2b1a, and S, also known as K2b1b. M and S are the predominant haplogroups amongst living males from New Guinea. According to Mark Lipson et al. (2014), K2* has also been found at rates of about 14% in two separate groups of Indonesian males: Toba Batak (from North Sumatra) and Mandar (West Sulawesi).
The primary subclades of haplogroup K2 include: K2a – Detected in ancient human samples including Oase1 (Romania), Ust'-Ishim (Russia), RNI013, RNI087, RNI010 (Germany) and BK-1653 (Bulgaria). Its descendant subclades include haplogroups N and O, which are commonly found in East Asia, Southeast Asia, Siberia, and Northern Europe. K2b – Detected in an ancient human sample (Tianyuan) in Beijing, China. Its descendant subclades include haplogroups M, P, Q, R, and S, which are commonly found in Europe, Central Asia, South Asia, Siberia, Oceania, and the Americas. K-P261 (K2c) P261 K-P402 (K2d) P402 K-M147 (K2e) M147 Distribution Reported frequencies of haplogroup K-M9 among sampled regions and populations:
Region or populationSample size (n)Frequency (%)North Africa1635.5Middle East94019.9Europe66557.6South Asia49641.9Central Asia39664.9North Asia80673.6East Asia72677.0Vietnam7188.7Malay3180.6Aeta2512Filipino2588.0Java6186.8Sumatra3886.7Nias60100Mentawai7486.8Bali64189.3Borneo8668.6Maluku3016.7Sulawesi17770.6Flores39218.6Lembata923.3Sumba6494.5Alor270Pantar2646.2Timor50917.5Papua New Guinea486.3Vanuatu4413.7New Britain280Micronesia1844.4Polynesia6426.6Australia446.8
Structure Haplogroup K-M9 treeyhrd.org
References
External links
Spread of Haplogroup K, from National Geographic