Description

Mitochondrial haplogroup F is an R-derived lineage concentrated in East and Southeast Asia, with highest frequencies in Vietnam, southern China, and among some Tibetan populations. F1 is especially common in Southeast Asia, while F2 is found across a broader range of East Asian populations. F is closely related to B and together they form the East Asian core of the R macrohaplogroup. Ancient DNA has confirmed F's presence in prehistoric East Asian populations, and its distribution broadly overlaps with the spread of Austroasiatic and Tai-Kadai-speaking peoples across mainland Southeast Asia.

Interesting Fact

Haplogroup F reaches its highest frequencies in Vietnam (~20%) and among the Li people of Hainan Island (~30%), populations considered to be among the earliest inhabitants of mainland Southeast Asia who have maintained relatively undiluted lineages since the initial settlement of the region.

Distribution by Ethnicity

Ethnic distributionRegionFrequencySample
Li (Hainan)East Asia
30%
n=100
VietnameseSoutheast Asia
20%
n=500
TibetansCentral Asia / East Asia
12%
n=300
Han Chinese (South)East Asia
10%
n=1000
ThaiSoutheast Asia
8%
n=400
KoreansEast Asia
4%
n=600

Tags

References

  1. Kivisild et al. (2002) — The emerging limbs and twigs of the East Asian mtDNA tree. Molecular Biology and Evolution 19(10), 1737–1751.
  2. Macaulay et al. (2005) — Single, rapid coastal settlement of Asia revealed by analysis of complete mitochondrial genomes. Science 308(5724), 1034–1036.
  3. Qin et al. (2010) — Mitochondrial DNA diversity in the Chinese Kazak population. Forensic Science International: Genetics 4(5), e131–e134.