Despite its extensive geographic range and the presence of numerous distinct populations, North Africa has generally received little attention in genetic studies. Finally, it is worth noting that the great majority of sub-Saharan sequences in North Africa do not form phylogenetic clades, and therefore, show no signals of having evolved in North Africa. Our results evidence that North Africa has not only acted as a sink of different human migrations, but also as a source and as a bidirectional corridor. Finally, North Africa’s role as a source is evidenced by the presence of the autochthonous M1 and U6 sequences outside North Africa. This agrees with previous results that point out higher historic spreads of North African lineages possibly during Phoenician rule, the Roman empire or the Arab expansion19.

Source: The North Africa Journal June 27, 2023 10:00 UTC