The genetic landscape of Mediterranean North African populations through complete mtDNA sequences

<b>Background:</b> The genetic composition of human North African populations is an amalgam of different ancestral components coming from the Middle East, Europe, south-Saharan Africa and autochthonous to North Africa. This complex genetic pattern is the result of migrations and admixtures in the region since Palaeolithic times. <b>Aims:</b> The objective of the present study is to refine knowledge of the population history of North African populations through the analysis of complete mitochondrial sequences. <b>Subjects and methods:</b> This study has sequenced complete mitochondrial DNAs (mtDNAs) in several North African and neighbouring individuals. <b>Results:</b> The mtDNA haplogroup classification and phylogeny shows a high genetic diversity in the region as a result of continuous admixture. The phylogenetic analysis allowed us to identify a new haplogroup characterised by positions 10 101 C and 146 C (H1v2), a sub-branch of H1v, which is restricted to North Africa and whose origins are estimated as ∼4000 years ago. <b>Conclusions:</b> The analysis of the complete mtDNA genome has allowed for the identification of a North African sub-lineage that might be ignored by the analysis of partial mtDNA control region sequences, highlighting the phylogeographic relevance of mtDNA complete sequence analysis.