The Seven Daughters of Eve
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The Seven Daughters of Eve (2001, ISBN 0-393-02018-5) is a book by Bryan Sykes that presents the theory of human mitochondrial genetics to a general audience. Sykes explains the principles of genetics and human evolution, the particularities of mitochondrial DNA, and analyses of ancient DNA to genetically link modern humans to prehistoric ancestors.
NB.Mitochondria are the little powerhouses present in all our cells!)
The title of the book comes from one of the principal achievements of mitochondrial genetics,
which is the classification of all modern Europeans into seven groups, the mitochondrial haplogroups. Each haplogroup is defined by set of characteristic mutations on the mitochondrial genome, and can be traced along a person's maternal line to a specific prehistoric woman. Sykes refers to these women as "clan mothers", though these women did not all live concurrently. Indeed some "clan mothers" are descended from others (although not maternally).
All these women in turn shared a common maternal ancestor, the Mitochondrial Eve.
The seven "clan mothers" mentioned by Sykes each correspond to one (or more) human mitochondrial haplogroups.
Ursula: corresponds to Haplogroup U (specifically U5, and excluding its subgroup K)
Xenia: corresponds to Haplogroup X
Helena: corresponds to Haplogroup H
Velda: corresponds to Haplogroup V
Tara: corresponds to Haplogroup T
Katrine: corresponds to Haplogroup K
Jasmine: corresponds to Haplogroup J
Sykes wrote in the book that there were seven major mitochondrial lineages for modern Europeans, though he subsequently wrote that with the additional data from Scandinavia and Eastern Europe, Ulrike (see below) could have been promoted to be the eighth clan mother for Europe.[1]
Sykes has invented names for an additional 29 "clan mothers" worldwide, each corresponding to a different haplogroup identified by geneticists: "Fufei, Ina, Aiyana/Ai, Yumi, Nene, Naomi, Una, Uta, Ulrike, Uma, Ulla, Ulaana, Lara, Lamia, Lalamika, Latasha, Malaxshmi, Emiko, Gaia, Chochmingwu/Chie, Djigonasee/Sachi, Makeda, Lingaire, Lubaya, Limber, Lila, Lungile, Latifa and Layla."[4]
Looks like we were both right one way or another Garinda
It has also been shown that the gene for intelligence is carried on the female X-chromosomes!
I can quite see myself being related to Xenia -which clan do you think you belong to?
