Pashtun Maternal DNA and Genealogy

[Midnight_Sun]

Marriage patterns of Pashtuns are all over the place in my opinion. Some Pashtuns marry their daughters exclusively within their own tribe, while others marry their daughters to any tribe. Those that live in the city marry women from other ethnic groups as well. Either way, most Pashtuns don't identify anything about women in their family to the public.

My mother's ancestry is mixed. Her own mother was Tarakhel (Deh Sabz, Kabul) who married a Mohammadzai. Her father was Alekozai, who's mother was Hazara (Zardalu, Kandahar).

My maternal mtDNA has been labeled as U5. Apparently, my results are a little strange for U5 (considering most U5 are in Europe and Russia. I've had some professionals look at it, and they think there may be something new about it that hasn't been identified yet. Therefore, I'm doing a more advanced test that will look deeper and see the entire mitochondrial DNA.

Have any of you done a maternal DNA test to find out your mother's genetic origins?

[Midnight_Sun]

My mtDNA full sequence has been completed and apparently, they mismatched me. I'm now U2c. Which is in the same family as U, but more common to our region.

[Karachi]

^ where is you mtdna from? I mean which area of the world it's found most in?

[Midnight_Sun]

There's only 6 people in the world that they found U2c1 on, I'm one of them, and apparently there are over a dozen mutations that I don't share with anybody. The oldest U2 specimen was from a mummy they excavated in Southern Russia. No studies have been done in Afghanistan, but it. Has been found in Eastern Europe, Southern Europe, Russia, Iran, ex-Soviet Central Asia, Pakistan, and India, where it makes up the bulk of the Eurasian lineages found there.

[Karachi]

^ yeah, seems like a really old haplogroup, I dont know my mtdna but my Ydna is Q1b. It is found anywhere from Russia to India. the Mutation of Q1b only took palce about 800-1000 years ago (estimated) some where in central asia. so whoever my ancestors were, they were not very long ago

[ډګروال]

[Apollyon]

My mtDNA full sequence has been completed and apparently, they mismatched me. I'm now U2c. Which is in the same family as U, but more common to our region.

Karachi said...Mutation of Q1b only took palce about 800-1000 years ago (estimated) some where in central asia.

For males ydna for females mtdna, mutations take much longer than 800 years.

While mutations occur in mitochondrial DNA, the rate of mutation is relatively slow. Over thousands of years these mutations build up so that one female line will have a sequence distinguishable from another.

Y-Chromosome DNA

The Y chromosome is transmitted from father to son. Testing the Y chromosome provides information about the direct male line, meaning the father to his father and so on. The locations tested on the Y chromosome are called markers. Occasionally a mutation occurs at one of the markers in the Y chromosome. Mutations are simply small changes in the DNA sequence. They are natural occurrences and take place at random intervals. Overall, they are estimated to occur once every 500 generations per marker. Mutations can sometimes be valuable in identifying branches of a family tree.

Mitochondrial is passed from mother to child. Since only females pass on their mtDNA, testing the mtDNA tells about the mother, to her mother, and so on along the direct maternal line. Both males and females receive mtDNA from their mothers, so both men and women can test their mtDN Over thousands of years these mutations build up so that one female line will have a sequence distinguishable from another.

http://www.familytreedna.com/understanding-dna.aspx

[torkham]

I am curious how and where are you getting these tests done.

I know of my pashtun lineage simply from my parents, grand parents being pashtun with one female member nuristani. So in doing one of these tests what will i know?

Can some one explain which test will tell me what?
Which test is recommended as first test to ascertain my generic ancestry region i am linked to.

[Kushan Prince]

Where did you get this test done?

[Apollyon]

Depending on where you live many places offer tests, USA..

http://www.familytreedna.com/products.aspx

1. Do you have a test that will tell me what proportion of my ancestry comes from different ethnic groups and populations? faq id: 336
   Yes. The Family Finder test includes the Population Finder tool. It finds the amount DNA ancestry from different population groups.
   See also: The Population Finder FAQ
   
2. Can I test to determine if I have ancestry from one ethnic group such as Native American, Jewish, or an African group? faq id: 337
   Yes. Our tests can tell you if you have ancestry from a population group.
   Our Y-DNA tests trace the direct paternal line. This is your father's father's father. This is the best test to use when you want clear proof of ancestry on your direct paternal line.
   Our mitochondrial DNA tests trace the direct maternal line. This is your mother's mother's mother. This is the best test when you want clear proof of ancestry on your direct maternal line.
   The Population Finder tool finds ancestry from all of your lineages. It also provides a percentage of your ancestry.
   

http://www.familytreedna.com/faq/answers.aspx?id=1

Who is in charge of the National Genographic project? faq id: 310


Spencer Wells, PhD leads The Genographic Project. He is a geneticist and an anthropologist. He is also a National Geographic explorer-in-residence. Dr. Wells works with other scientists to carry out global field research.
In addition, the project has an advisory board. The Advisory Board includes leaders from many disciplines. They provide advice and oversight on funding priorities, ethical issues, and legal compliance. The board chair is Dr. Luca Cavalli-Sforza, a world-renowned geneticist.

http://www.familytreedna.com/faq/answers.aspx?id=3

[Khostai]

I don't know why peopel do this test whats the benefit of it?

[Midnight_Sun]

Q

I am curious how and where are you getting these tests done.

I know of my pashtun lineage simply from my parents, grand parents being pashtun with one female member nuristani. So in doing one of these tests what will i know?

Can some one explain which test will tell me what?
Which test is recommended as first test to ascertain my generic ancestry region i am linked to.

You could find out where your tribe originally came from. Were they part of the Proto-Indo-European speakers? Were they Turks or Huns? East Asian? South Indian? African? etc.

Knowing your genetic history, can also tell you what kind of diseases you are prone to. For instance, maternal lineages like U5 show fast progression of Auto-Immune diseases.

Testing rare lineages, like female Nuristanis helps people understand human migration throughout the eons. If you allow the scientific community access to your genetic genealogy, they can use your data, as they have my own, in understanding for instance, the migration pattern of R1a1.

My goal is to find out how my father's paternal tribe spread around Afghanistan, and how old is their lineage. I also wanted to learn more about my ethnicity, which is Ghilzai Pashtun.

Now that I have a good foundation, I can now begin testing other people from my father's tribe, who don't have a direct link with us, to see how many generations ago our tribe split. Apparently, my dad's tribe split into two geographic regions. One group settled in Maidan Shar, near Kabul, and the other went to Nangrahar. The progenitor is said to be buried in Nangrahar somewhere. After testing, I should be able to find out if we have the same ancestor or not.

The more Pashtuns that contribute, the better understand we have of where we are really from. I really wish for a study specifically of Pashtuns that helps to trace whether we are all related on the tribal tree, or if, for instance, there is really a genetic difference between Baitani, Sarbani, Gharghasht, and Karlani Pashtuns. Maybe they were all related, or maybe some are completely not related at all.

If you are interesting in knowing your genetic genealogy, start off either by going through Family Tree DNA service or through NatGeo.

[Midnight_Sun]

I don't know why peopel do this test whats the benefit of it?

It's not for everybody. It's also a very expensive hobby.

[Midnight_Sun]

^ yeah, seems like a really old haplogroup, I dont know my mtdna but my Ydna is Q1b. It is found anywhere from Russia to India. the Mutation of Q1b only took palce about 800-1000 years ago (estimated) some where in central asia. so whoever my ancestors were, they were not very long ago

Q was found in significant frequency in Pashtuns in a study, but it is not 50% as Wikipedia for some reason says it is. The study they cite has only 2%, or 9 out of 49 Pashtuns tested positive for it. Over 50% tested were actually R1a1.

[Karachi]

^ Q is found is very low frequency all over and it is really spread out. my subgroup Q1b is even rarer. R1a1 is a dominant haplogroup, I really wonder how though? how did it spread so quickly all over from Europe to India, it's a big mystery