Haplogroup E-V68

Haplogroup E-V68
Possible time of origin	~24,100 years BP
Possible place of origin	Northeastern Africa: the region of Egypt and Libya or northern Sudan
Ancestor	E-M215/M35
Descendants	E-M78
Defining mutations	V68, L539, L546

In human genetics, E-V68, also known as E1b1b1a, is a major Y chromosome haplogroup found in northeastern Africa, Western Asia and Europe, and is in turn part of the larger haplogroup known as E-M35. It is identified by the presence of a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) mutation on the Y chromosome known as V68. It is a subject of discussion and study in genetics as well as genetic genealogy, archaeology, and historical linguistics.

E-V68 is dominated by its longer-known subclade E-M78. In various publications, both E-V68 and E-M78 have been referred to by other names, especially phylogenetic nomenclature such as "E3b1a" which are designed to show their place on the family tree of all humans. These various names change as new discoveries are made and are discussed below.

E-M78, like its parent clade E-V68, is thought to have an African origin. Based on genetic STR variance data, Cruciani et al. (2007) suggests that this subclade originated in "Northeastern Africa", which in the study refers specifically to the region of Egypt and Libya.

Prior to Cruciani et al. (2007), Semino et al. (2004) had proposed a place of origin for E-M78 further south in East Africa. This was because of the high frequency and diversity of E-M78 lineages in the region of Ethiopia. However, Cruciani et al. (2007) were able to study more data, and concluded that the E-M78 lineages in the Horn of Africa were dominated by relatively recent branches (see E-V32 below). They concluded that the region of Egypt was the likely place of origin of E-M78 based on "the peripheral geographic distribution of the most derived subhaplogroups with respect to northeastern Africa, as well as the results of quantitative analysis of UEP and microsatellite diversity".

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