Gene Project to Trace Migration

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April 13, 2005 Los Angeles Times

Gene Project to Trace Migration

In a massive effort, researchers will collect and analyze DNA from

100,000 worldwide.

By H. Maugh II, Times Staff Writer

The National Geographic Society is launching a massive project today

to trace the migratory history of humans, a five-year effort that

will involve the collection and analysis of DNA from more than

100,000 people around the world.

" We already have a general view of the very early Paleolithic

migrations, " said geneticist Spencer Wells, a National Geographic

explorer-in-residence who will lead the project. " Humans spread out

of Africa, then moved out of Eurasia, but it gets very hazy after

that. We're going to nail down the details of that story. "

The Genographic Project is seeking individuals to participate in the

project. They can have their DNA analyzed by buying a $99 kit that

allows them to send in a swab for analysis.

Researchers will initially analyze DNA from mitochondria, the

cellular powerhouses that are passed down through mothers, and the Y

chromosome, which is passed by fathers.

Researchers know through several studies that all humans today

received their mitochondrial DNA from one woman, or perhaps a few,

living in Africa about 200,000 years ago. They call this

ancestor " mitochondrial Eve, " the mother of all humans.

Similarly, researchers have traced the Y chromosome of males back to

a " genetic Adam " in roughly the same time and place.

But those studies are based on data from only about 10,000 people,

Wells said. The Genographic Project will have at least 10 times that

many participants, allowing much greater detail to be teased out,

particularly about the last 10,000 to 15,000 years.

The international team of researchers will initially concentrate on

indigenous peoples, such as the Hadzabe of Tanzania, ethnic

Mongolians and Navajos in the United States, all of whom have

remained in one place for long periods and thus have a simpler

genetic history. They will collect 10,000 DNA samples from each of 10

indigenous groups.

The team hopes a large number of individuals will participate, both

to increase the funding for the project and to expand the database.

Individual information, which will be posted on the Internet

anonymously, could provide new insight on family history.

One sample, for example, was from a U.S. resident whose grandfather

came from Germany and whose mother's family came from England.

The DNA analysis showed a more complicated story.

According to Greenspan of Family Tree DNA, which is analyzing

data for the project, the Y chromosome had a genetic profile, or

haplotype, called R1a, which is believed to have originated in

Northern India and Pakistan some 30,000 years ago.

Over a long period, that family migrated across Eurasia in a great

arc, landing in Europe sometime after the last Ice Age. People with

haplotype R1a are now found most commonly in Europe east of Germany,

such as in Poland, where about 40% of the population has R1a.

Mitochondrial DNA, Greenspan said, showed a maternal lineage that

traced to the Levant — the Middle East — and moved eventually to

Europe, probably with the migration of Neolithic peoples who brought

farming to the continent. People with that genetic makeup, known as

haplotype K, make up no more than 9% of the population in any region.

Wells said information about the migrations will become more detailed

as more people participate in the project, contributing their own

genetic history. Kits may be ordered at www.nationalgeographic.com.