RT Journal Article
T1 Indian Signatures in the Westernmost Edge of the European Romani Diaspora: New Insight from Mitogenomes
A1 Gómez Carballa, Alberto
A1 Pardo Seco, Jacobo José
A1 Fachal Vilar, Laura
A1 Vega Gliemmo, Ana Paula
A1 Cebey López, Miriam
A1 Martinón Torres, Nazareth
A1 Martinón Torres, Federico
A1 Salas Ellacuriaga, Antonio
AB In agreement with historical documentation, several genetic studies have revealed ancestral links between the EuropeanRomani and India. The entire mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of 27 Spanish Romani was sequenced in order to shed furtherlight on the origins of this population. The data were analyzed together with a large published dataset (mainlyhypervariable region I [HVS-I] haplotypes) of Romani (N = 1,353) and non-Romani worldwide populations (N.150,000).Analysis of mitogenomes allowed the characterization of various Romani-specific clades. M5a1b1a1 is the most distinctiveEuropean Romani haplogroup; it is present in all Romani groups at variable frequencies (with only sporadic findings in nonRomani) and represents 18% of their mtDNA pool. Its phylogeographic features indicate that M5a1b1a1 originated 1.5thousand years ago (kya; 95% CI: 1.3–1.8) in a proto-Romani population living in Northwest India. U3 represents the mostcharacteristic Romani haplogroup of European/Near Eastern origin (12.4%); it appears at dissimilar frequencies across thecontinent (Iberia: ,31%; Eastern/Central Europe: ,13%). All U3 mitogenomes of our Iberian Romani sample fall within anew sub-clade, U3b1c, which can be dated to 0.5 kya (95% CI: 0.3–0.7); therefore, signaling a lower bound for the founderevent that followed admixture in Europe/Near East. Other minor European/Near Eastern haplogroups (e.g. H24, H88a) werealso assimilated into the Romani by introgression with neighboring populations during their diaspora into Europe; yet someshow a differentiation from the phylogenetically closest non-Romani counterpart. The phylogeny of Romani mitogenomesshows clear signatures of low effective population sizes and founder effects. Overall, these results are in good agreementwith historical documentation, suggesting that cultural identity and relative isolation have allowed the Romani to preserve adistinctive mtDNA heritage, with some features linking them unequivocally to their ancestral Indian homeland.
PB PLOS
YR 2013
FD 2013
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10347/21806
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10347/21806
LA eng
NO Gómez-Carballa A, Pardo-Seco J, Fachal L, Vega A, Cebey M, et al. (2013) Indian Signatures in the Westernmost Edge of the European Romani Diaspora: New Insight from Mitogenomes. PLoS ONE 8(10): e75397
NO The research leading to these results has received funding from the “Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación” (SAF2008-02971) and from the Plan Galego IDT, Xunta de Galicia (EM 2012/045) (A.S.) and Consellería de Sanidade/Xunta de Galicia (RHI07/2-intensificación actividad investigadora and 10PXIB918184PR), Instituto Carlos III (Intensificación de la actividad investigadora) and Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria (FIS; PI070069 and PI1000540) del plan nacional de I+D+I and ‘fondos FEDER’ (F.M.T.)
DS Minerva
RD 29 abr 2026