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Subject: Genes differ between Christian and Muslim communities in Lebanon
BBC NEWS
Crusaders 'left genetic legacy'
Scientists have detected the faint genetic traces left by medieval
crusaders in the Middle East.
The team says it found a particular DNA signature which recently
appeared in Lebanon and is probably linked to the crusades.
The finding comes from the Genographic Project, a major effort to
track human migrations through DNA.
Details of the research have been published in the American Journal of
Human Genetics.
The researchers found that some Christian men in Lebanon carry a DNA
signature hailing from Western Europe.
The scientists also found that Lebanese Muslim men were more likely
than Christians to carry a particular genetic signature. But this one
is linked to expansions from the Arabian Peninsula which brought Islam
to the area in the 7th and 8th Centuries.
But they emphasise that the differences between the two communities
are minor, and that Christians and Muslim Arabs in Lebanon
overwhelmingly share a common heritage.
Genetic 'surname'
The legacy of the Muslim expansion has been demonstrated in other
studies which looked at the genetics of Middle Eastern and North
African populations. But signs of recent European migration to the
region is more unusual.
The study focused on the Y, or male, chromosome, a package of genetic
material carried only by men that is passed down from father to son
more or less unchanged, just like a surname.
But over many generations, the chromosome accumulates small changes,
or copying errors, in its DNA sequence.
So Y chromosomes can be classified into different groups (called
haplogroups) which, to some extent, reflect a person's geographical
ancestry.
The team analysed the Y chromosomes of 926 Lebanese males and found
that patterns of male genetic variation in Lebanon fell more along
religious lines than along geographical lines.
A genetic signature on the male chromosome called WES1, which is
usually only found in European populations, was found among the
Lebanese men included in the study.
Science and history
"It seems to have come in from Europe and is found mostly in the
Christian population," said Dr Spencer Wells, director of the
Genographic Project.
"This is odd because typically we don't see this sort of
stratification by religion when we are looking at the relative
proportions of these lineages - and particularly immigration events."
He told BBC News: "Looking at the same data set, we saw a similar
enrichment of lineages coming in from the Arabian Peninsula in the
Muslim population which we didn't see [as often] in the Christian
population."
Lebanese Muslim men were found to have high frequencies of a Y
chromosome grouping known as J1. This is typical of populations
originating from the Arabian Peninsula, who were involved in the
Muslim expansion.
"The goal of the study was to put some science to the history of this
country - which is very rich," said Pierre Zalloua, a co-author on the
paper, from the Lebanese American University in Beirut.
He added: "To have these great civilisations - with the Islamic
expansion and the migration from Europe - coming to Lebanon, leaving
not only their genes but also some of their culture and way of life,
it can only make us feel richer."
The Genographic Project was launched by National Geographic in 2005 to
help piece together a picture of how the Earth was colonised.
The consortium has sold 250,000 DNA test kits and regional centres
have taken samples of genetic material from 31,000 indigeous people.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news. bbc.co.uk/ go/pr/fr/ -/2/hi/science/ nature/7316281. stm
Published: 2008/03/27 17:36:37 GMT
© BBC MMVIII
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