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Abstract DNA samples from Falasha Jews and Ethiopians were studied with the Y-chromosome-specific DNA probe p49a to screen for Taql restriction polymorphisms and haplotypes. Two haplotypes (V and XI) are the most widespread in Falashas and Ethiopians, representing about 70% of the total number of haplotypes in Ethiopia. Because the Jewish haplotypes VII and VIII are not represented in the Falasha population, we conclude that the Falasha people descended from ancient inhabitants of Ethiopia who converted to Judaism.
KEY WORDS: Y-CHROMOSOME HAPLOTYPES, JEWS, ETHIOPIANS
Falashas are Ethiopian Jews who migrated to Israel recently. They claim to be descendants of Jews who came to Ethiopia with Menelik I, the alleged son of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. They speak Amharic, a Semitic language. The informative p49f-a Y-chromosome-specific DNA probe (Lucotte and Ngo 1985), mapped to the Yq1 1.2 region (Quack et al. 1988), reveals 10 male-specific TaqI fragments, at least 5 of which (A, C, D, F, and 1) are polymorphic and determine 16 main haplotypes (I to XVI) in France (Ngo et al. 1986). Initial studies (Lucotte and David 1992; Lucotte et al. 1993) established that all 16 haplotypes are also found in Jewish populations; however, 2 of them [haplotype VIT (A2,CO,DJ,Fl,IO) and haplotype VIII (A2,CO,D1,F1j1)] are the most widespread in Jews, representing more than 50% of the total number of haplotypes. These global results were further confirmed in at least 3 independent laboratories (Santachiara-Benerecetti et al. 1993; Ritte et al. 1993a; Spurdle and Jenkins 1996); moreover, ancestry of haplotype VIII in Jews has been established (Lucotte et al. 1996).
Haplotype distributions in Ashkenazic and Sephardic Jews are similar (Lucotte et al. 1993), but the Oriental haplotype XI (A3,CO,DO,F1j]) (Persichetti et al. 1992; Jobling 1994) and the European haplotype XV (A3,C1,D2,F1,Hl) (Lucotte and Hazout 1996) are more frequent in the Ashkenazim, whereas the African haplotype IV (Al,CO,DO,Fl,Il) (Torroni et al. 1990; Spurdle and Jenkins 1992; Lucotte et...