Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Se busca antepasado ilustre

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Message: Se busca antepasado ilustre
¿Quiere usted saber si desciende de Guillermo El Conquistador? ¿Le gustaría incluir a Pedro el Cruel en su parentela? ¿O preferiría, en cambio, remontar la noche de los tiempos y averiguar si proviene de los primeros Homo sapiens que colonizaron Europa? La clásica pregunta existencial, saber de dónde venimos, resulta ahora posible de responder, si le hacemos caso a los defensores de la genealogía molecular.

FUENTE | El País Digital 02/03/2008
http://www.madrimasd.org/noticias/busca-antepasado-ilustre/33379


Se trata de la disciplina científica de moda: la combinación de la genealogía el estudio de la ascendencia y descendencia de una persona con la genética molecular, la rama de la biología que investiga la estructura y función de los genes en el nivel molecular. De la mezcla ha salido una especialidad capaz de vincular a los individuos en vastos árboles genealógicos, a partir de características genéticas únicas.

Uno de esos rasgos singulares es el cromosoma Y, el segmento de ADN que se transmite de padres a hijos varones, manteniéndose estable muchos siglos; de ahí que los parientes con un vínculo masculino ininterrumpido posean cromosomas similares, salvo en el caso de una mutación (un fenómeno que sucede muy raramente). Esta cualidad hace de dicho cromosoma una herramienta idónea para pesquisas genealógicas, especialmente en países donde el linaje se transmite con el apellido paterno.

Los tataranietos de Pedro el Cruel. La genética molecular está causando furor. En Inglaterra les ha despertado a unas cuantas personas el interés por conocer si descienden de Guillermo El Conquistador. En Estados Unidos, el favorito de los buscadores de antepasados es el general Robert E. Lee, el jefe sudista en la Guerra de Secesión. En España, las pesquisas tienen por objeto al rey Pedro I de Castilla (1334-1369), conocido en los anales históricos con el sobrenombre de El Cruel, aunque sus descendientes prefieren el más amable de El Justiciero.

El motor de esa búsqueda es Fernando Castilla, un informático residente en Madrid. Tras conocer la hipótesis de que su apellido procede del linaje del rey castellano, comenzó hace años una labor detectivesca por registros parroquiales y protocolos notariales de media España. "Seguí la pista de mis antepasados hasta Juan de Castilla, nacido en 1550 en Vadocondes (Burgos). Me resultó imposible remontarme más atrás, pues antes del Concilio de Trento no se llevaban libros parroquiales", explica.

Como ya no podía ahondar más en el pasado, Fernando optó por investigar en el presente. "Con los datos obtenidos me puse en contacto con otros Castilla a través del listín telefónico. Compartiendo información compusimos un puzzle formado por 2.300 portadores del apellido. Luego colgué el resultado en Internet y no tardaron en llegarme emails de los Castilla de Argentina y de otros países hispanoamericanos." "En paralelo, prosigue, los genealogistas aficionados que nos hemos ido conociendo a través de la Red creamos la Asociación de Genealogía Hispana (Hispagen), ahí nos apoyamos en nuestras investigaciones y ayudamos a los socios con menos experiencia".

El siguiente paso fue encarar el análisis del cromosoma. Y de los Castilla. En esa tarea contaron con el apoyo del profesor Eduardo Arroyo, el director del Laboratorio de Genética Forense y Genética de Poblaciones de la Facultad de Medicina de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Él y su equipo se encargan de analizar los kits comercializados por un laboratorio que ofrece pruebas de genealogía molecular.

El test, muy similar al utilizado en las pruebas de paternidad, es muy sencillo y relativamente barato (su precio ronda los 80 euros). El interesado recibe en su domicilio un hisopo esterilizado, que se pasará por el interior de la mejilla, guardándolo luego en un recipiente hermético, que remitirá por correo al laboratorio. Al poco tiempo le enviarán el análisis de las células recogidas en la mucosa bucal.

Si al menos nueve parámetros de su cromosoma coinciden con los de otra persona, significa que entre ambos existe un parentesco biológico por vía paterna. Pero eso no basta para agregar una rama al árbol familiar; de poco sirve saber que uno tiene un nuevo pariente si no podemos precisar su grado de parentesco; de ahí la necesidad de complementar la información genética con datos genealógicos tradicionales.

"Ya tenemos los perfiles cromosómicos de un centenar de Castillas de España y Argentina", indica el fundador de Hispagen. "Hemos probado que algunos de ellos están emparentados con descendientes acreditados de Pedro I y otros no, quizás por tratarse de linajes distintos con el mismo apellido, hijos legítimos o adopciones".

Esta colaboración surgió por casualidad, recuerda Eduardo Arroyo. "Queríamos confirmar si los dos presuntos infantes sepultados en la iglesia de San Benito de Valladolid eran parientes de Pedro I, y el único modo era cotejando su ADN con el de un descendiente actual del monarca. Eso nos condujo al apellido Castilla y a Fernando y su gran base de datos". Así fue como el genetista se embarcó en una empresa de más vasto alcance: actualmente, su laboratorio recibe muestras genéticas de Argentina, Portugal e Italia, enviadas por personas apellidadas Castilla y, más recientemente, Alfaro, que también han expresado el deseo de rastrear sus orígenes.

La vuelta a los orígenes. La reconstrucción del linaje Castilla es un ejemplo de la creciente pasión por el conocimiento de los antepasados. Fenómeno novedoso, "la genealogía ha sido tradicionalmente el patrimonio de unas pocas personas ligadas al mundo de la heráldica y a la aristocracia", se ha visto impulsado por el abaratamiento de los análisis y la llegada de la Red, que facilita la constitución de comunidades consagradas al rastreo de ancestros comunes. "Conociendo su perfil genético, el interesado puede hacer confluir su proyecto con el de otros, o consultar bases de datos especializadas", comenta Arroyo.

Entre esas bases destaca la del Proyecto Genográfico, lanzado por National Geographic y la compañía IBM con la finalidad de reconstruir la historia de las migraciones humanas a través de más de 100.000 muestras genéticas de poblaciones indígenas. Cualquier interesado puede contribuir a financiar el proyecto comprando un test, y por ese medio descubrir, por ejemplo, que sus antepasados salieron de Oriente Próximo en la última edad de hielo y llegaron a Europa hace 38.000 años, desplazándose a la Península hace unos 8.000 años, como ha sido el caso de algunos participantes.

A su vez, la Fundación Sorenson de Genealogía de Salt Lake City (Estados Unidos) ha reunido 100.000 muestras de ADN, con sus correspondientes documentos genealógicos. A quien done una muestra acompañada de un árbol de familia de cuatro generaciones, la Fundación le ayudará a reconstruir sus orígenes a través de su base.

Por su parte, Immigrant Ancestors, una iniciativa de los mormones de Estados Unidos, atesora información sobre los inmigrantes que alcanzaron el país entre los años 1500 y 1940, disponible para los interesados en conocer la historia de sus ascendientes.

Y Oxford Ancestors (con sede en Reino Unido) promete a los compradores de su kit buscar sus lazos consanguíneos con los europeos prehistóricos. Su fundador, Brian Sykes, es el genetista que extrajo el ADN del Hombre de los Hielos, la momia de 5.000 años de antigüedad hallada en los Alpes. Además de emplear el cromosoma, Sykes se vale del ADN mitocondrial "transmisible por vía materna para identificar a los descendientes de las siete hijas de Eva", las siete tribus matriarcales de las cuales, según su controvertida hipótesis, proceden los actuales pueblos europeos.

Desenterrando las raíces. ¿De dónde ha surgido tanto interés por las raíces propias? Las motivaciones son de lo más variadas, y van desde reconstruir la historia ancestral hasta descubrir algún secreto de familia. La curiosidad constituye un factor de primer orden, dice Castilla. "Cuando tiras de la cuerda y empiezas a subir por tu árbol genealógico, te apasionas fácilmente".

El entusiasmo es desbordante al otro lado del Atlántico, donde existe un enorme interés por recuperar los nexos perdidos con grupos específicos de Eurasia y África. Los argentinos quieren saber de dónde venía su bisabuelo, especifica Castilla. Y en Estados Unidos muchos afroamericanos desean restablecer los vínculos ancestrales cortados por la esclavitud, sobre todo después de que la estrella de la televisión Oprah Winfrey anunciase su ascendencia zulú, descubierta gracias a una prueba genética.

En sociedades desarraigadas donde la mayoría ignora el nombre de pila de sus tatarabuelos, tener raíces con solera genera un sentimiento de pertenencia, que cobra un aura glamourosa si además dichas raíces nos emparentan con una celebridad histórica. La gente quiere respuestas que fortalezcan su identidad. A casi nadie le gusta ignorar su relación con el pasado. Es una sensación psicológica similar a la expresada por los niños adoptados. "Despejar tales incertidumbres puede aportar paz interior", interpreta Peter Forster, genetista de la Universidad de Cambridge (Reino Unido).

Más idealista se presenta, en cambio, el objetivo genealógico perseguido por el difunto creador de la mencionada Fundación Sorenson. El millonario estadounidense James Sorenson creía firmemente que cuando los enemigos históricos sepan que comparten antepasados comunes que un mismo parentesco conecta a judíos israelíes con palestinos y a chiitas con suníes, entonces habrá paz en la Tierra.

Esperanzas infundadas. Expectativas tan amplias han llevado a los especialistas a dar la alerta. Una cosa es reconstruir una historia familiar combinando documentos y análisis genéticos, pues, como afirma el profesor Arroyo, "los registros genealógicos mantienen una fuerte correlación con los datos genéticos, y otra muy distinta es determinar sólo mediante la genética si uno es pariente remoto de Cleopatra o de una tribu hotentote". En un artículo publicado en Science, la antropóloga Deborah Bolnik, de la Universidad de Tejas (EE.UU.), y otros 13 investigadores previenen contra las ilusiones alentadas por la industria del parentesco. Las compañías no siempre informan de las limitaciones de los tests, como la falta de una clara conexión entre ADN e identidades raciales o étnicas, advierten los expertos, que reclaman directrices inequívocas sobre las posibilidades reales de la genética ancestral.

La plena conciencia de esas limitaciones no desanima a Fernando Castilla, quien se muestra convencido de que, tarde o temprano, reconstruirá la filiación de los actuales Castilla con Pedro I: "Disponemos de la manera de zanjar definitivamente la cuestión: tomar una muestra de ADN de los restos del infante Sancho, el hijo del rey castellano enterrado en el convento toledano de Santo Domingo el Real, analizarlo y compararlo con los perfiles cromosómicos de nuestra base de datos. Para ello tendremos que conseguir los permisos preceptivos, pero todo se andará".

Autor: Pablo Francescutti

Friday, March 21, 2008

MUY IMPORTANTE

This is an email from GenealogiaMolecular.com

Message: Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation and University of Pavia Publish Most Comprehensive Answers
March 12, 2008

Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation and University of Pavia Publish Most Comprehensive Answers to Date on Genetic Origins of Native Americans

Results of Extensive Study of Native American Mitochondrial DNA, Inherited From Mothers, Show All Who Are Descended From the First Group of Humans to Arrive in the Americas From Asia Approximately 20,000 Years Ago Are Related to Six Founding Mothers. Research Also Confirms New Genetic Subgroups, Indicating Additional Migratory Events Later and Further Defines North American Genetic Family Tree.

SALT LAKE CITY & PAVIA, Italy--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In the most comprehensive study to date on the genetic origins of Native Americans, an international research team confirmed that Native Americans who descended from ancestors who crossed from Asia to the Americas approximately 20,000 years ago are offspring of six founding, or ancestral, mothers. The study also confirms the presence of genetic subgroups of more rare, less known and geographically limited genetic groups who arrived later. This study is the first time all known Native American mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences and lineages have been compiled, corrected and organized into a single tree with branches dated.

Researchers from the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation (SMGF), a non-profit foundation building the world's largest collection of integrated genetic and family history information, the department of genetics and microbiology at the University of Pavia, and others today published online at the Public Library of Science (www.plos.org) the results of their study of more than 200 full mtDNA sequences from Native Americans. mtDNA traces maternal ancestry for both men and women and is inherited exclusively from mothers.

Researchers combed GenBank, the National Institutes of Health genetic sequence database, and earlier scientific publications for scans of Native American mitochondrial lineages and added previously unpublished sequences to this work, said study co-author Ugo Perego, director of operations at SMGF. The genetic sequences are pan-American, including native North, Central and South American populations.

"This is the first comprehensive overview of the principal pan-American branches of the Native American mtDNA tree," said Antonio Torroni, study co-author heading the University of Pavia group. Torroni is considered one of the fathers of genetic research on Native Americans and was the first to discover, 15 years ago, the four major genetic groups to which 95 percent of Native Americans belong.

The study released today identifies the six surviving Native American mtDNA lineages that are dated to approximately 20,000 years ago, designated as A2, B2, C1b, C1c, C1d and D1. Today's study also confirms the presence of five more rare, less known and geographically limited genetic groups: X2a, D2, D3, C4c and D4h3.

The five more rare genetic groups will help researchers isolate branches within the pan-American groups that are younger or come from a better-defined geographic area, said lead author Dr. Alessandro Achilli, researcher at the University of Pavia and assistant professor at the University of Perugia. "For example, we learned one branch is only found among Aleuts and Eskimos," he said. "The presence of these additional subgroups suggests different migratory events from Asia or the Bering Straits. This study will be used as a reference for all future research on Native Americans. It is essential for reconstructing the history of specific Native American groups and for reliable association studies between mtDNA haplogroups and complex disorders," said Achilli.

Comprehensive data from the study is available online at www.plos.org, said Perego, and may be used to improve tests by commercial genetic genealogy firms, such as GeneTree. GeneTree (www.genetree.com) is a DNA-enabled family history-sharing Website helping people understand where their personal histories belong within the greater human genetic story. GeneTree was developed by the Sorenson family of companies and draws on the expertise of the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation.

People are increasingly using genetic testing to learn about their roots, said Perego. "I receive calls and emails regularly asking, 'With a DNA test, can you prove I have Native American ancestry?' Our new research has the potential to fine-tune genetic genealogy tests for these people." He noted genetic testing is not currently accepted as proof of ancestry for admission into a tribe.


Source: http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20080312005172&newsLang=en

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Research Also Confirms New Genetic Subgroups, Indicating Additional Migratory Events Later

This is an email from GenealogiaMolecular.com

Message: Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation and University of Pavia Publish Most Comprehensive Answers
March 12, 2008

Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation and University of Pavia Publish Most Comprehensive Answers to Date on Genetic Origins of Native Americans

Results of Extensive Study of Native American Mitochondrial DNA, Inherited From Mothers, Show All Who Are Descended From the First Group of Humans to Arrive in the Americas From Asia Approximately 20,000 Years Ago Are Related to Six Founding Mothers. Research Also Confirms New Genetic Subgroups, Indicating Additional Migratory Events Later and Further Defines North American Genetic Family Tree.

SALT LAKE CITY & PAVIA, Italy--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In the most comprehensive study to date on the genetic origins of Native Americans, an international research team confirmed that Native Americans who descended from ancestors who crossed from Asia to the Americas approximately 20,000 years ago are offspring of six founding, or ancestral, mothers. The study also confirms the presence of genetic subgroups of more rare, less known and geographically limited genetic groups who arrived later. This study is the first time all known Native American mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences and lineages have been compiled, corrected and organized into a single tree with branches dated.

Researchers from the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation (SMGF), a non-profit foundation building the world's largest collection of integrated genetic and family history information, the department of genetics and microbiology at the University of Pavia, and others today published online at the Public Library of Science (www.plos.org) the results of their study of more than 200 full mtDNA sequences from Native Americans. mtDNA traces maternal ancestry for both men and women and is inherited exclusively from mothers.

Researchers combed GenBank, the National Institutes of Health genetic sequence database, and earlier scientific publications for scans of Native American mitochondrial lineages and added previously unpublished sequences to this work, said study co-author Ugo Perego, director of operations at SMGF. The genetic sequences are pan-American, including native North, Central and South American populations.

"This is the first comprehensive overview of the principal pan-American branches of the Native American mtDNA tree," said Antonio Torroni, study co-author heading the University of Pavia group. Torroni is considered one of the fathers of genetic research on Native Americans and was the first to discover, 15 years ago, the four major genetic groups to which 95 percent of Native Americans belong.

The study released today identifies the six surviving Native American mtDNA lineages that are dated to approximately 20,000 years ago, designated as A2, B2, C1b, C1c, C1d and D1. Today's study also confirms the presence of five more rare, less known and geographically limited genetic groups: X2a, D2, D3, C4c and D4h3.

The five more rare genetic groups will help researchers isolate branches within the pan-American groups that are younger or come from a better-defined geographic area, said lead author Dr. Alessandro Achilli, researcher at the University of Pavia and assistant professor at the University of Perugia. "For example, we learned one branch is only found among Aleuts and Eskimos," he said. "The presence of these additional subgroups suggests different migratory events from Asia or the Bering Straits. This study will be used as a reference for all future research on Native Americans. It is essential for reconstructing the history of specific Native American groups and for reliable association studies between mtDNA haplogroups and complex disorders," said Achilli.

Comprehensive data from the study is available online at www.plos.org, said Perego, and may be used to improve tests by commercial genetic genealogy firms, such as GeneTree. GeneTree (www.genetree.com) is a DNA-enabled family history-sharing Website helping people understand where their personal histories belong within the greater human genetic story. GeneTree was developed by the Sorenson family of companies and draws on the expertise of the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation.

People are increasingly using genetic testing to learn about their roots, said Perego. "I receive calls and emails regularly asking, 'With a DNA test, can you prove I have Native American ancestry?' Our new research has the potential to fine-tune genetic genealogy tests for these people." He noted genetic testing is not currently accepted as proof of ancestry for admission into a tribe.


Source: http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20080312005172&newsLang=en

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Gene Map Becomes a Luxury Item

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Message: The DNA Age
Gene Map Becomes a Luxury Item
Fred Merz for The New York Times
BIG SPENDER Dan Stoicescu is paying a company to map his genome.


By AMY HARMON
Published: March 4, 2008
On a cold day in January, Dan Stoicescu, a millionaire living in Switzerland, became the second person in the world to buy the full sequence of his own genetic code.


He is also among a relatively small group of individuals who could afford the $350,000 price tag.

Mr. Stoicescu is the first customer of Knome, a Cambridge-based company that has promised to parse his genetic blueprint by spring. A Chinese executive has signed on for the same service with Knome's partner, the Beijing Genomics Institute, the company said.

Scientists have so far unraveled only a handful of complete human genomes, all financed by governments, foundations and corporations in the name of medical research. But as the cost of genome sequencing goes from stratospheric to merely very expensive, it is piquing the interest of a new clientele.

"I'd rather spend my money on my genome than a Bentley or an airplane," said Mr. Stoicescu, 56, a biotechnology entrepreneur who retired two years ago after selling his company. He says he will check discoveries about genetic disease risk against his genome sequence daily, "like a stock portfolio."

But while money may buy a full readout of the six billion chemical units in an individual's genome, biologists say the superrich will have to wait like everyone else to learn how the small variations in their sequence influence appearance, behavior, abilities, disease susceptibility and other traits.

"I was in someone's Bentley once — nice car," said James D. Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA, whose genome was sequenced last year by a company that donated the $1.5 million in costs to demonstrate its technology. "Would I rather have my genome sequenced or have a Bentley? Uh, toss up."

He would probably pick the genome, Dr. Watson said, because it could reveal a disease-risk gene that one had passed on to one's children, though in his case, it did not. What is needed, he said, is a "Chevrolet genome" that is affordable for everyone.

Biologists have mixed feelings about the emergence of the genome as a luxury item. Some worry that what they have dubbed "genomic elitism" could sour the public on genetic research that has long promised better, individualized health care for all. But others see the boutique genome as something like a $20 million tourist voyage to space — a necessary rite of passage for technology that may soon be within the grasp of the rest of us.

"We certainly don't want a world where there's a great imbalance of access to comprehensive genetic tests," said Richard A. Gibbs, director of the human genome sequencing center at Baylor College of Medicine. "But to the extent that this can be seen as an idiosyncratic exercise of curious individuals who can afford it, it could be quite a positive phenomenon."

It was the stream of offers from wealthy individuals to pay the Harvard laboratory of George M. Church for their personal genome sequences that led Dr. Church to co-found Knome last year (most people pronounce it "nome," though he prefers "know-me").

"It was distracting for an academic lab," Dr. Church said. "But it made me think it could be a business."

Scientists say they need tens of thousands of genome sequences to be made publicly available to begin to make sense of human variation.

Knome, however, expects many of its customers to insist on keeping their dearly bought genomes private, and provides a decentralized data storage system for that purpose.

Mr. Stoicescu said he worried about being seen as self-indulgent (though he donates much more each year to philanthropic causes), egotistical (for obvious reasons) or stupid (the cost of the technology, he knows, is dropping so fast that he would have certainly paid much less by waiting a few months).

But he agreed to be identified to help persuade others to participate. With only four complete human genome sequences announced by scientists around the world — along with the Human Genome Project, which finished assembling a genome drawn from several individuals at a cost of about $300 million in 2003 — each new one stands to add considerably to the collective knowledge.

"I view it as a kind of sponsorship," he said. "In a way you can also be part of this adventure, which I believe is going to change a lot of things."

Mr. Stoicescu, who has a Ph.D. in medicinal chemistry, was born in Romania and lived in the United States in the early 1990s before founding Sindan, an oncology products company that he ran for 15 years. Now living with his wife and 12-year-old son in a village outside Geneva, he describes himself as a "transhumanist" who believes that life can be extended through nanotechnology and artificial intelligence, as well as diet and lifestyle adaptations. His genome sequence, he reasons, might give him a better indication of just what those should be. Last fall, Mr. Stoicescu paid $1,000 to get a glimpse of his genetic code from deCODE Genetics. That service, and a similar one offered by 23andMe, looks at close to a million nucleotides on the human genome where DNA is known to differ among people.

But Mr. Stoicescu was intrigued by the idea of a more complete picture. "It is only a part of the truth," he said. "Having the full sequence decoded you can be closer to reality."

How close is a matter of much debate. Knome is using a technology that reads the genome in short fragments that can be tricky to assemble. All of the existing sequencing methods have a margin of error, and the fledgling industry has no agreed-on quality standards.

Knome is not the only firm in the private genome business. Illumina, a sequencing firm in San Diego, plans to sell whole genome sequencing to the "rich and famous market" this year, said its chief executive, Jay Flatley. If competition drives prices down, the personal genome may quickly lose its exclusivity. The nonprofit X Prize Foundation is offering $10 million to the first group to sequence 100 human genomes in 10 days, for $10,000 or less per genome. The federal government is supporting technology development with an eye to a $1,000 genome in the next decade.

But for now, Knome's prospective customers are decidedly high-end. The company has been approached by hedge fund managers, Hollywood executives and an individual from the Middle East who could be contacted only through a third party, said Jorge Conde, Knome's chief executive.

"I feel like everyone's going to have to get it done at some point, so why not be one of the first?" said Eugene Katchalov, 27, a money manager in Manhattan who has met with Mr. Conde twice.

Mr. Stoicescu, who wants to create an open database of genomic information seeded with his own sequence, hopes others will soon join him.

A few days after he wired his $175,000 deposit to the company, a Knome associate flew in from Cambridge to meet him at a local clinic.

"What the heck am I doing?" Mr. Stoicescu recalls wondering. "And how many children in Africa might have been fed?"

Then he offered up his arm and gave her three test tubes of his blood.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation and University of Pavia Publish Most Comprehensive Answers t

This is an email from GenealogiaMolecular.com

Message: March 12, 2008

Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation and University of Pavia Publish Most Comprehensive Answers to Date on Genetic Origins of Native Americans

Results of Extensive Study of Native American Mitochondrial DNA, Inherited From Mothers, Show All Who Are Descended From the First Group of Humans to Arrive in the Americas From Asia Approximately 20,000 Years Ago Are Related to Six Founding Mothers. Research Also Confirms New Genetic Subgroups, Indicating Additional Migratory Events Later and Further Defines North American Genetic Family Tree.

SALT LAKE CITY & PAVIA, Italy--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In the most comprehensive study to date on the genetic origins of Native Americans, an international research team confirmed that Native Americans who descended from ancestors who crossed from Asia to the Americas approximately 20,000 years ago are offspring of six founding, or ancestral, mothers. The study also confirms the presence of genetic subgroups of more rare, less known and geographically limited genetic groups who arrived later. This study is the first time all known Native American mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences and lineages have been compiled, corrected and organized into a single tree with branches dated.

Researchers from the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation (SMGF), a non-profit foundation building the world's largest collection of integrated genetic and family history information, the department of genetics and microbiology at the University of Pavia, and others today published online at the Public Library of Science (www.plos.org) the results of their study of more than 200 full mtDNA sequences from Native Americans. mtDNA traces maternal ancestry for both men and women and is inherited exclusively from mothers.

Researchers combed GenBank, the National Institutes of Health genetic sequence database, and earlier scientific publications for scans of Native American mitochondrial lineages and added previously unpublished sequences to this work, said study co-author Ugo Perego, director of operations at SMGF. The genetic sequences are pan-American, including native North, Central and South American populations.

"This is the first comprehensive overview of the principal pan-American branches of the Native American mtDNA tree," said Antonio Torroni, study co-author heading the University of Pavia group. Torroni is considered one of the fathers of genetic research on Native Americans and was the first to discover, 15 years ago, the four major genetic groups to which 95 percent of Native Americans belong.

The study released today identifies the six surviving Native American mtDNA lineages that are dated to approximately 20,000 years ago, designated as A2, B2, C1b, C1c, C1d and D1. Today's study also confirms the presence of five more rare, less known and geographically limited genetic groups: X2a, D2, D3, C4c and D4h3.

The five more rare genetic groups will help researchers isolate branches within the pan-American groups that are younger or come from a better-defined geographic area, said lead author Dr. Alessandro Achilli, researcher at the University of Pavia and assistant professor at the University of Perugia. "For example, we learned one branch is only found among Aleuts and Eskimos," he said. "The presence of these additional subgroups suggests different migratory events from Asia or the Bering Straits. This study will be used as a reference for all future research on Native Americans. It is essential for reconstructing the history of specific Native American groups and for reliable association studies between mtDNA haplogroups and complex disorders," said Achilli.

Comprehensive data from the study is available online at www.plos.org, said Perego, and may be used to improve tests by commercial genetic genealogy firms, such as GeneTree. GeneTree (www.genetree.com) is a DNA-enabled family history-sharing Website helping people understand where their personal histories belong within the greater human genetic story. GeneTree was developed by the Sorenson family of companies and draws on the expertise of the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation.

People are increasingly using genetic testing to learn about their roots, said Perego. "I receive calls and emails regularly asking, 'With a DNA test, can you prove I have Native American ancestry?' Our new research has the potential to fine-tune genetic genealogy tests for these people." He noted genetic testing is not currently accepted as proof of ancestry for admission into a tribe.

Sunday, March 02, 2008

Latinos utilizan genealogía para encontrar respuestas al presente

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Message: Latinos utilizan genealogía para encontrar respuestas al presente


tomado de lo voz Catolica

José Luis Castillo Castro
EFE

Más allá de averiguar el lugar de nacimiento exacto de su padre, quien
llegó a Texas desde México a principios del siglo XX, Art Garza busca,
a través de la genealogía, descubrir si la enfermedad que hoy lo
agobia es hereditaria.

Hace seis años, Garza se enteró de la existencia de la Organización
Hispana para la Genealogía e Investigación (HOGAR, por su sigla en
inglés) que opera en la división de genealogía de la Biblioteca
Pública de Dallas (BPD), y que recibe más de 50,000 visitas al año.

Con las indicaciones de HOGAR, Garza, de 74 años, emprendió la
búsqueda para conocer el lugar de nacimiento de su progenitor, pero lo
único que pudo averiguar es que llegó con sus padres de Tamaulipas
(México) a Texas a principios del siglo XX.

"Indagué hasta encontrar los nombres de mis abuelos y que, al momento
de pisar suelo tejano, eran muy pobres, y que mi padre era uno de los
últimos entre 13 hermanos. Por eso mis abuelos decidieron darlo en
adopción a una familia adinerada", comentó Garza.

Pero la curiosidad llevó a Garza a descubrir, además, que muchos de
los miembros de su familia, como sus hermanos, sus tíos y hasta su
padre, habían sufrido dolencias cardíacas, que les habían costado
incluso la vida.

Garza sufre del corazón y vive con un bypass. En 2003 le
diagnosticaron cáncer, y actualmente se somete a quimioterapia.

"La genealogía fue primero un hobby; luego se convirtió en una
indagatoria sobre mis ancestros y sus enfermedades", explicó.

Así como Garza indagó sobre la salud de sus antepasados, Dorina A.
Thomas, de 62 años, natural de Kingsville (Texas), también utilizó la
genealogía para el mismo propósito.

"Estaba interesada en la muerte de mis abuelos. Cuando vi los
certificados de defunción pude conocer no sólo los nombres de sus
padres, y así averiguar que habían sufrido de presión arterial alta y
que tuvieron diabetes", dijo Thomas, quien, junto a su esposo, fundó
en 1998 HOGAR, que ahora cuenta con alrededor de 80 miembros.

Para Jesse Thomas, de padre estadounidense y madre tejana de origen
mexicano, averiguar sobre sus raíces era más que importante, "era
fundamental para saber quién soy y de dónde viene mi sangre".

Con ayuda de libros sobre genealogía y microfilmes donde se encuentran
archivados certificados de bautizo, de matrimonio y hasta de defunción
de iglesias de diferentes denominaciones, Thomas pudo armar un árbol
genealógico para él y su esposa, que data de varias generaciones.

Según Lloyd Bockstruck, director de genealogía de la BPD, existen
archivos también de los censos hechos por el gobierno, en donde se
puede averiguar, "con paciencia, el origen de nuestros antepasados
desde que se empezaron a archivar, a fines del siglo XIX".

Según Jesús y Gloria Benavides, ambos de 73 años y cofundadores de
HOGAR, para "escarbar" el pasado antes del siglo XIX hay que ir a
diferentes fuentes, desde centros universitarios y bibliotecas en
otras ciudades del estado, hasta obituarios de los periódicos de
antaño "y en los panteones que hoy yacen en el olvido".

"También es bueno saber escuchar. Mi abuela murió a los 103 años, allá
por 1965, y siempre nos habló de que su padre había peleado en alguna
guerra. Primero pensamos que se trataba de alguna de las guerras
mundiales", dijo Jesús Benavides.

Pero no fue hasta un viaje a Washington, D.C., cuando Benavides se dio
cuenta de que su bisabuelo, Arcadio Ruiz, natural de Coahuila
(México), luchó en la Guerra Civil estadounidense (de 1861 a 1865) con
las fuerzas de los estados del norte, "a cambio de un caballo, y
dinero que nunca se le pagó".

En la misma búsqueda de los antepasados de Gloria Benavides, se dieron
cuenta de que su bisabuelo, Dionisio Rendón, de Laredo (Texas),
combatió en la misma guerra, pero en el otro bando.

"Es un orgullo poder demostrar que, antes de ser Texas, esto fue
territorio mexicano, y antes español, y antes de los indígenas.
Mañana, quién sabe, pero estoy seguro de que todo en esta vida está
escrito y documentado. Sólo hay que saber buscar para luego descifrar
e interpretar", finalizó Jesús Benavides.