Reconstruction of major maternal and paternal lineages of the Cape Muslim population
Loading...
Date
2013
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Sociedade Brasileira de Genética
Abstract
The earliest Cape Muslims were brought to the Cape (Cape Town - South Africa) from Africa and Asia from 1652 to
1834. They were part of an involuntary migration of slaves, political prisoners and convicts, and they contributed to
the ethnic diversity of the present Cape Muslim population of South Africa. The history of the Cape Muslims has been
well documented and researched however no in-depth genetic studies have been undertaken. The aim of the present
study was to determine the respective African, Asian and European contributions to the mtDNA (maternal) and
Y-chromosomal (paternal) gene pool of the Cape Muslim population, by analyzing DNA samples of 100 unrelated
Muslim males born in the Cape Metropolitan area. A panel of six mtDNA and eight Y-chromosome SNP markers
were screened using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphisms (PCR-RFLP). Overall
admixture estimates for the maternal line indicated Asian (0.4168) and African mtDNA (0.4005) as the main contributors.
The admixture estimates for the paternal line, however, showed a predominance of the Asian contribution
(0.7852). The findings are in accordance with historical data on the origins of the early Cape Muslims.
Description
Keywords
PCR-RFLP, Genetic polymorphism, Mitochondrial DNA, Population genetic structure, Chromosome variations
Citation
Isaacs, S. et al. (2013). Reconstruction of major maternal and paternal lineages of the Cape Muslim population. Genetics and Molecular Biology, 36(2): 167-176