W1 is defined by the 07864 coding region mutation; a third of W's are of this subgroup, making it the largest. If HVR2 results are available, W1 may be tenatively identified by not having the 00194 mutation, which differentiates it from all other W subgroups.
W1 emerged about 10,000 years ago in central Asia. There are eight recognized major subgroups, W1a through W1h, plus some others not yet given an official designation. One W1 lineage apparently continued without mutations for nearly 7,000 years among the ancestors of the Finns in north central Eurasia, diversifying into subgroups only when these populations expanded into Finland and the eastern Baltic.
How to Read These Phylogenetic Trees
W1 consists of the following major subgroups:
- The purely Finnish types: W1a (defined by coding region mutations 05495 12669); and W1b (defined by coding region mutations 04928 and 09612, and HVR2 mutation 00227). These are almost entirely confined to Finland, with a few results in adjacent areas of neighboring countries (Norway, Sweden, Russia). Both are young subgroups that diversified less than 3,000 years ago.
- W1c (defined by coding region mutations 14148). This is the oldest W1 subgroup, emerging around 8,000 years ago in the steppes of Kazakhstan. Descendent lineages are found today in Georgia, Turkey, India, and Europe. The Indian lineages (W1c-16292 and W1c+150) both emerged around 6,000 years ago. There are two European lineages - W1c1, which emerged 4,000 years ago, and is found today in Germany and Britain; and W1c+5004, found today in England and Ireland, which emerged 2500 year ago.
- W1d is defined by coding region mutation 08383, 09278, and 14981.
This is so far represented by a single individual, an Israeli Jew of
Iraqi origin. The person has numerous additional changes, including
loss of 16292 in HVR1, 16260 and 16298 in HVR1, and 00189, 00194, 00200
in HVR2. There are similar HVR / HVR2 results from Iran, Iraq, and Cyprus. The type seems therefore to have emerged in the earliest agricultural civilizations, and spread into the eastern Mediterranean.
- W1e is defined by the 08659 and 08887 coding region mutations, and
the 16295 mutation in HVR1. The ancestral type with only the 16295 mutation is today exclusively Finnish. W1e's with both the 16295 and 16324 mutation have an interesting distribution in Europe.
HVR1 results only indicate that the 16293+16324 motif diverged around 1500 years ago. The geographic distribution (and the associated dates) correlate with the migrations of the Huns under Attilla. W1e is also found among the Sekely in Romania, who believe themselves descendents of the Huns. Some traditions say the Huns originated in northern Eurasia, the same area as the Finno-Ugarits. So one theory could be that the original 16295-only mutation arose around 3000 years ago among the peoples in northern Eurasia who would later split into the Finns, Estonians, Magyars, and Huns; but only the 16324 mutation emerged among the Estonians and Huns; and the Huns brought it into western Europe.
- W1f, defined by the 09950 mutation in the coding region. This emerged 7,000 years ago, presumably among the first European Neolithic agriculturalists in the Daunbe valley. So far
only three coding region results have been reported; one branch in
Austria has a 16275 mutation in HVR1; the other branch, in the Czech
Republic, has a 16249 mutation.
- W1g, defined by the 16320 mutation in HVR1. This extends from the Ukraine through Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Germany, and France to Portugal.
- W1h, defined by the 16145 mutation in HVR1. This is currently found in Russia and Latvia, with a single example without the usual W 1243 mutation from Italy. It may in fact be ancestral to W1 and on the line to N2.
One branch of this family is found among Ashkenazi Jews and developed in recent historical times. A study of HVR-only results shows this more clearly than the full genome tree:
- Other W1 lineages without enough results yet to receive a subgroup designation. These all seem to be north European maritime lineages which perhaps descended from a basic W1 lineage in Latvia 3800 years ago. One branch sharing the 119 mutation in HVR2 spread through Norway to Britain, France, and Spain beginning 3300 years ago. Identifying other examples of the 119 family based on HVR1/2 results only is difficult, since the same 119 mutation occurs in other W1 branches. Other subbranches of W1 are found today in Germany, Britain, and the Netherlands.
Comments? Corrections? Questions? E-mail me!