Haplogroup G (mtDNA)

Origin

Haplogroup G is a descendant of haplogroup M. Haplogroup G is divided into subclades G1, G2, G3, and G4.

Distribution

It is an East Asian haplogroup. Today, haplogroup G is found at its highest frequency in indigenous populations of the lands surrounding the Sea of Okhotsk. Haplogroup G is one of the most common mtDNA haplogroups among modern Ainu, Japanese, Mongol, and Tibetan people (as well as among people of the prehistoric Jōmon culture in Hokkaidō). It is also found at a lower frequency among many other populations of East Asia, Central Asia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal. However, unlike other mitochondrial DNA haplogroups typical of populations of northeastern Asia, such as haplogroup A, haplogroup C, and haplogroup D, haplogroup G has not been found among indigenous peoples of the Americas.

Subclades

Subclade G2 is the most widely distributed, being found with low frequency in many populations all the way from western Siberia (Mansi, Khanty) to Japan (Japanese, Ainu) and from Iran (Persian) to South Central China (Hmong and Tujia in Hunan and Mien in Guangxi). G2 (and especially its subclade G2a) is notably frequent among many Mongolic- or Turkic-speaking populations of northern East Asia and Central Asia. G2a also has been found with high frequency in some samples of Tharus from southern Nepal.

Subclade G1 is almost completely responsible for the high frequency of haplogroup G in populations located around the Sea of Okhotsk (Itelmen, Koryak, Negidal, Ulch, Ainu, Chukchi, Nivkh, etc.). G1 in Luoravetlans (Koryak & Chukchi) is essentially G1b, and this subclade is also found with generally low frequency in populations of Yakutia to the west (Evens, Yukaghirs, Evenks, Yakuts, Dolgans) as well as in Japan. G1a has been found in samples from China (Daur, Hui, Kazakh, Korean, Manchu, and a sample of the general population of the city of Shenyang), Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and Siberia (Yakut). G1c has been found in China and Korea.

Subclade G3 is relatively rare. It has been found mainly among Koreans, Tibetans, and presently Turkic- or Mongolic-speaking populations in southern Siberia and vicinity, and occasionally among Evenks in Buryatia, Japanese, Pumi, Tajiks, Hmong and Tujia in western Hunan, and Vietnamese.

Subclade G4 has been found in Japan.

Tree

This phylogenetic tree of haplogroup G subclades is based on the paper by Mannis van Oven and Manfred Kayser Updated comprehensive phylogenetic tree of global human mitochondrial DNA variation and subsequent published research.