Haplogroup K2a | |
---|---|
Possible place of origin | East Asia or South East Asia |
Ancestor | K2 |
Descendants |
Primary descendant: K2a1 (M2313); NO (F549). |
Defining mutations | M2308 |
Primary descendant: K2a1 (M2313);
Haplogroup K2a (M2308) is a human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup. K2a is a primary descendant of Haplogroup K2, which in turn is a primary descendant of Haplogroup K*. Its sole primary descendant is K2a1 (M2313).
K2a* has been found only in the remains of two Paleolithic individuals from Siberia and Eastern Europe, while K2a1* has been found only in living individuals from India and South East Asia.
Before 2016, it was generally considered that "K2a" and "NO" were identical and constituted a primary branch of Haplogroup K2. However, researchers such as Poznik et al. discovered Y-DNA in ancient remains and living individuals that had some, but not all, of the mutations regarded previously as peculiar to NO, and also lacked any of the SNPs identifying other primary clades of K2. Poznik et al. therefore considered that K2a and NO respectively constituted "grandparent" and "grandchild" clades, and proposed that the name Haplogroup K2a1 be assigned to the Y-DNA of individuals who belonged to K2a, but did not belong to NO.
As of 2016, two living males had been found to carry K2a1* – a Telugu man from India and an ethnic Malay.