Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroups in 1526 unrelated individuals from 11 Departments of Colombia

Abstract

The frequencies of four mitochondrial Native American DNA haplogroups were determined in 1526 unrelated individuals from 11 Departments of Colombia and compared to the frequencies previously obtained for Amerindian and Afro-Colombian populations. Amerindian mtDNA haplogroups ranged from 74% to 97%. The lowest frequencies were found in Departments on the Caribbean coast and in the Pacific region, where the frequency of Afro-Colombians is higher, while the highest mtDNA Amerindian haplogroup frequencies were found in Departments that historically have a strong Amerindian heritage. Interestingly, all four mtDNA haplogroups were found in all Departments, in contrast to the complete absence of haplogroup D and high frequencies of haplogroup A in Amerindian populations in the Caribbean region of Colombia. Our results indicate that all four Native American mtDNA haplogroups were widely distributed in Colombia at the time of the Spanish conquest.

Keywords: Colombia; Mestizo; admixture; haplogroup; mitochondrial DNA.

Figure 1

Geographic location of the Amerindian reservations (gray) and territories with a high frequency of African descendants (black) in Colombia. Inset in the upper left corner shows the San Andres (larger) and Providencia (smaller) Islands in the Caribbean Sea. Modified from Rodriguez-Palau et al. (2007).