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For people who have tested and are assigned the maternal haplogroup U5b or who are believed to have had that maternal haplogroup based on descendants tested.
Defining Mutations
- U5 has polymorphisms in 3197 9477 13617 16192 16270
- U5b has polymorphisms in 150 7768 14182
Origin
Among the oldest mtDNA haplogroups found in European remains of Homo sapiens is U5. The age of U5 is estimated at 50,000 but could be as old as 60,500 years. Approximately 11% of total Europeans and 10% of European-Americans are in haplogroup U5.
The presence of haplogroup U5 in Europe pre-dates the expansion of agriculture in Europe. Bryan Sykes' popular book The Seven Daughters of Eve calculated that it arose 45,000-50,000 years ago in Delphi, Greece and named the originator of haplogroup U5 Ursula. However the details related to location and age are speculative. Barbujani and Bertorelle estimate the age of haplogroup U5 as about 52,000 years ago, being the oldest subclade of haplogroup U.
Subgroup U5b is thought to have arisen 24,000 years ago.
Distribution
U5 has been found in human remains dating from the Mesolithic in England, Germany, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal and Russia.
Haplogroup U5 and its subclades U5a and U5b form the highest population concentrations in the far north, in Sami, Finns, and Estonians, but it is spread widely at lower levels throughout Europe. This distribution, and the age of the haplogroup, indicate individuals from this haplogroup were part of the initial expansion tracking the retreat of ice sheets from Europe ~10kya.
Haplogroup U5 is found also in small frequencies and at much lower diversity in the Near East and parts of Africa, suggesting back-migration of people from northern Europe to the south.
Subclades of U
- U (mtDNA)
Famous Members
- Henri IV, King of France (1553-1610)
DNA extracted from the mumified head of Henri VI shows that he belonged to Haplogroup U5b. See Dienekes Anthropology Blog, Y chromosome and mtDNA of Henri VI, Jan. 1, 2013.
How to Participate
To participate in this project, join or follow the project, then add your oldest known ancestor who belonged to this haplogroup. The profile must be set to public in order to add it.
Resources
- DNA Haplogroups, mtDNA Phylogenetic Tree - Haplogroup U
- FaceBook, Haplgroup U5 Facebook group
- Wikipedia, Haplogroup U5
Research
The Peopling of Europe from the Mitochondrial Haplogroup U5 Perspective, Malyarchuck et al, 2010 Link to paper
Supplemental data including revised trees for U5a and U5b can be downloaded at the above link.
Abstract
It is generally accepted that the most ancient European mitochondrial haplogroup, U5, has evolved essentially in Europe. To resolve the phylogeny of this haplogroup, we completely sequenced 113 mitochondrial genomes (79 U5a and 34 U5b) of central and eastern Europeans (Czechs, Slovaks, Poles, Russians and Belorussians), and reconstructed a detailed phylogenetic tree, that incorporates previously published data. Molecular dating suggests that the coalescence time estimate for the U5 is ~25–30 thousand years (ky), and ~16–20 and ~20–24 ky for its subhaplogroups U5a and U5b, respectively. Phylogeographic analysis reveals that expansions of U5 subclusters started earlier in central and southern Europe, than in eastern Europe.