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Cited by 1,342

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 1 of the 1 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

African Populations and the Evolution of Human Mitochondrial DNA

Vigilant, Linda, Stoneking, Mark, Harpending, Henry, Hawkes, Kristen, Wilson, Allan C.·1991·Science
DOI 10.1126/science.1840702
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Abstract

The proposal that all mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) types in contemporary humans stem from a common ancestor present in an African population some 200,000 years ago has attracted much attention. To study this proposal further, two hypervariable segments of mtDNA were sequenced from 189 people of diverse geographic origin, including 121 native Africans. Geographic specificity was observed in that identical mtDNA types are shared within but not between populations. A tree relating these mtDNA sequences to one another and to a chimpanzee sequence has many deep branches leading exclusively to African mtDNAs. An African origin for human mtDNA is supported by two statistical tests. With the use of the chimpanzee and human sequences to calibrate the rate of mtDNA evolution, the age of the common human mtDNA ancestor is placed between 166,000 and 249,000 years. These results thus support and extend the African origin hypothesis of human mtDNA evolution.

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Metadata

Authors
Vigilant, L., Stoneking, M., Harpending, H., Hawkes, K., & Wilson, A. C.
Venue
Science
Publisher
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Published
1991-09-27
Volume
253
Issue
5027
Pages
1503-1507
ISSN
  • 0036-8075 (ISSN-L)
  • 1095-9203
DOI
10.1126/science.1840702
OpenAlex
W2072889251
Cited by
1,342
References
1
FWCI
29.98
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed

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