First case of rare mtDNA H4a1 in ancient Egypt 2020 - Takabuti 25thD

[Mediterranea]

Takabuti, was a female who lived in ancient Egypt during the 25th Dynasty, c.660 BCE.To gain insight into Takabuti’s ancestry, we used deep sampling of vertebral bone, under X-ray control, to obtain non-contaminated bone tissue from which we extracted ancient DNA (aDNA) using established protocols. We targeted the maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), known to be highly informative for human ancestry, and identified 38 single nucleotide variants using next generation sequencing. The specific combination of these SNVs suggests that Takabuti belonged to mitochondrial haplogroup H4a1. The modern distribution of H4a1 is rare and sporadic and has been identified in areas including the Canary Islands, southern Iberia and the Lebanon. H4a1 has also been reported in ancient samples from Bell Beaker and Unetice contexts in Germany, as well as Bronze Age Bulgaria. We believe that this is an important finding because first, it adds to the depth of knowledge about the distribution of the H4a1 haplogroup in existing mtDNA, thus creating a baseline for future occurrences of this haplogroup in ancient Egyptian remains. Second, it is of great importance for archaeological sciences, since a predominantly European haplogroup has been identified in an Egyptian individual in Southern Egypt, prior to the Roman and Greek influx (332BCE). When interpreting our findings within the broader genetic record, the H super-haplogroup is the most common mtDNA lineage in Europe and is found also in parts of present-day Africa and western Asia9,14. The H4a1 variant possessed by Takabuti is relatively rare with a modern distribution including ~ 2% of a southern Iberian population15 , ~ 1% in a Lebanese population12 and ~ 1.5% of multiple Canary Island populations13.Perhaps *the most intriguing aspect of our findings, which is of great archaeological interest and importance, is the observation of a predominantly European haplogroup in an Egyptian individual located in Southern Egypt. What is fascinating is that the individual pre-dates the Roman and Greek influx (332BCE). At face value, the current genetic evidence suggests a high degree of isolation from migration into Southern Egypt. However, this finding challenges that assertion, suggesting that further investigative work could be carried out to gain a better understanding of the genetic makeup of ancient Southern Egypt. The simplified representation of mitochondrial haplogroups in ancient Egypt in Fig. 3 demonstrates the importance of studying individuals, in order to strengthen the archaeological maternal genetic record of ancient Egypt. This extends beyond our key finding of an individual who is clearly not characteristic of the background maternal lineages based on the currently known haplotyped population. For example, in one of our previous papers we identified the M1a1 haplogroup in two mummies5, pushing back the earliest observation of this haplogroup in Egyptian mummies by 500 years. Similarly, a study by Loreille et al., 2018 4 pushed back the recorded chronology of the U haplogroup in ancient Egypt by almost 1000 years. Therefore, single-case studies add to existing knowledge in this field, challenging and updating our current understanding." The first reported case of the rare mitochondrial haplotype H4a1 in ancient Egypt. October 2020 Konstantina Drosou, Thomas C. Collin, Peter J. Freeman, Robert Loynes & Tony Freemont 2020 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-74114-9

4:
http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4425/9/3/135/htm