Haplogroup N-M231

Haplogroup N (M231) is a Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup defined by the presence of the single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) marker M231.

It is most commonly found in males originating from northern Eurasia. It also has been observed at lower frequencies in populations native to other regions, including parts of the Balkans, Central Asia, East Asia, and Southeast Asia.

However, the basal paragroup N* has only been found in populations indigenous to China and Cambodia. Subclades of N-M231 have been found at low levels in Southeast Asia, the Pacific Islands, Southwest Asia and the Balkans. These factors tend to suggest that it originated in East Asia or Southeast Asia.

Origins

Haplogroup NO-M214, the most recent common ancestor of haplogroup N-M231 and its sibling haplogroup O-M175, is estimated to have existed about 36,800–44,700 years ago.YFull Haplogroup YTree v6.05.11 at 25 September 2018.

It is generally considered that N-M231 arose in Southeast Asia or East Asia approximately 19,400 (±4,800) years ago and populated northern Eurasia after the Last Glacial Maximum. Males carrying the marker apparently moved northwards as the climate warmed in the Holocene, migrating in a counter-clockwise path, to eventually become concentrated in areas as far away as Fennoscandia and the Baltic. The apparent dearth of haplogroup N-M231 amongst Native American peoples indicates that it spread after Beringia was submerged, about 11,000 years ago.

Distribution

Haplogroup N has a wide geographic distribution throughout northern Eurasia, and it also has been observed occasionally in other areas, including Central Asia and the Balkans.

It has been found with greatest frequency among indigenous peoples of Russia, including Uralic peoples (Mari, Udmurt, Komi, Khanty, Mansi, Nenets, Nganasans), Turkic peoples (Yakuts, Dolgans, Khakasses, Tuvans, Tatars , Chuvashes, etc.), Buryats, Tungusic peoples (Evenks, Evens, Negidals, Nanais, etc.), Yukaghirs, Luoravetlans (Chukchis, Koryaks), and Siberian Eskimos, but certain subclades are very common in Samis, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, and other subclades are found at low frequency in China (Yi, Naxi, Lhoba, Han Chinese, etc.). Especially in ethnic Finnic peoples and Baltic-speaking peoples of northern Europe, the Ob-Ugric-speaking and Northern Samoyed peoples of western Siberia, and Turkic-speaking peoples of Russia (especially Yakuts,, but also Altaians, Shors, Khakas, Chuvashes, Tatars, and Bashkirs). Nearly all members of haplogroup N among these populations of northern Eurasia belong to subclades of either haplogroup N-CTS6128/M2048 or haplogroup N-P43.

Y-chromosomes belonging to N1b-F2930/M1881/V3743, or N1*-CTS11499/L735/M2291(xN1a-F1206/M2013/S11466), have been found in China (where they account for approximately 3.62% of all Y-DNA) and sporadically throughout other parts of Eurasia. The N-CTS6128/M2048 and N-P43 subclades of N1a-F1206/M2013/S11466 are found in high numbers in Northern Eurasia; however, members of N1a-F1206(xCTS6128, P43) are currently found mainly in northern China and Korea.

Haplogroup N1-L735 is also relatively common in modern Turkmen and She from Majiang County, Guizhou.

N2-Y6503, the other primary subclade of haplogroup N, is extremely rare and is mainly represented among extant humans by a recently formed subclade that is virtually restricted to the countries making up the former Yugoslavia (Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, and Montenegro), Hungary and Austria. Other members of N2-Y6503 include a Hungarian with recent ancestry from Suceava in Bukovina, a Slovak, a few British individuals, and an Altaian.

N* (M231)

Y-chromosomes that display the M231 mutation that defines Haplogroup N-M231, but do not display the CTS11499, L735, M2291 mutations that define Haplogroup N1 are said to belong to paragroup N-M231*.ISOGG, 2016, Y-DNA Haplogroup N and its Subclades – 2016 22 August 2016).

N-M231* has been found at low levels in China. Out of a sample of 165 Han males from China, two individuals (1.2%) were found to belong to N*. One originated from Guangzhou and one from Xi'an.

Among the ancient samples from the Baikal Early Neolithic Kitoi culture, one of the Shamanka II samples (DA250), dated to c. 6500 BP, was analyzed as NO1-M214 in the original study. However, this same specimen (DA250 or Shamanka 250) has subsequently been found to belong to N-FT210118, the same clade as the other haplogroup N specimens from the same site (besides DA247, who belongs to N-Y147969). N-FT210118 is derived from N-L666/N-F2199 but basal to N-CTS6380, this latter being the most recent common ancestor of present-day N-P43 (found mainly among Maris, Udmurts, Komis, Chuvashes, Tatars, Nenets, Nganasans, Khanty, Mansi, Khakas, Tuvans, etc.) and N-F1101 (found mainly among East Asians). Furthermore, N-FT210118 has not been found in any living individual who has had his Y-DNA tested to date, and the estimated TMRCA of N-CTS6380 exceeds the estimated date of deposition of any of the specimens from the Shamanka site associated with the Kitoi culture, so it appears that the representatives of the Kitoi culture at Shamanka (or at least their Y-DNA) have gone extinct rather than being direct ancestors of any living people.

N1 (CTS11499, Z4762, CTS3750) In 2014, there was a major change in the definition of subclade N1, when LLY22g was retired as the main defining SNP for N1 because of reports of LLY22g's unreliability. According to ISOGG, LLY22g is problematic because it is a "palindromic marker and can easily be misinterpreted." Since then, the name N1 has been applied to a clade marked by a great number of SNPs, including CTS11499, Z4762, and CTS3750. N1 is the most recent common ancestor of all extant members of Haplogroup N-M231 except members of the rare N2-Y6503 (N2-B482) subclade. The TMRCA of N1 is estimated to be 18,000 years before present (16,300–19,700 BP; 95% CI). Since the revision of 2014, the position of many examples of "N1-LLY22g" within haplogroup N have become unclear. Therefore, it is better to check YFull and ISOGG 2019 in order to understand the updated structure of N-M231.

However, in older studies, N-LLY22g has been reported to reach a frequency of up to 30% (13/43) among the Yi people of Butuo County, Sichuan in Southwest China. It is also found in 34.6% of Lhoba people. N1-LLY22g* has been found in samples of Han Chinese, but with widely varying frequency: 6.8% (3/44) Han from Xi'an 6.7% (2/30) Han from Lanzhou 3.6% (3/84) Taiwanese Han 2.9% (1/34) Han from Chengdu 2.9% (1/35) Han from Harbin 2.9% (1/35) Han from Meixian district 0% (0/32) Han from Yining City Other populations in which representatives of N1*-LLY22g have been found include: Hani people (4/34 = 11.8%) Sibe people (4/41 = 9.8%) Tujia people (2/49 = 4.1%) Manchu people (2/52 = 3.8% to 2/35 = 5.7% Bit people (1/28 = 3.6%) Uyghurs (2/70 = 2.9% to 2/67 = 3.0%) Tibetan people (3/105 = 2.9% to 3/35 = 8.6%) Koreans (0/106 = 0.0% – 2/25 = 8% Vietnamese people (2/70 = 2.9%) Japanese people (0/70 Tokushima – 2/26 = 7.7% Aomori) Manchurian Evenks (0/26 = 0.0% to 1/41 = 2.4%) Altai people (0/50 Northern to 5/96 = 5.2% Southern, or 0/43 Beshpeltir to 5/46 = 10.9% Kulada), Shors (2/23 = 8.7%) Khakas people (5/181 = 2.8%) Tuvans (5/311 = 1.6%) Southern Borneo (1/40 = 2.5%) Forest Nenets (1/89 = 1.1%) Yakuts (0/215 – 1/121 = 0.8%) Turkish people (1/523 = 0.2%) In Turkey, the total of subclades of haplogroup N-M231 amounts to 4% of the male population. One individual who belongs either to N* or N1* has been found in a sample of 77 males from Kathmandu, Nepal (1/77 = 1.3% N-M231(xM128,P43,Tat))

N1(xN1a,N1c) was found in ancient bones of the Liao civilization. According to Liu et al. (2025), haplogroup N1 was most likely introduced to the Liao civilization from Southeastern Mongolian Plateau-related populations, originating 8,800–7,500 BP: Niuheliang (Hongshan Culture, 6500–5000 BP) 66.7%(=4/6) Halahaigou (Xiaoheyan Culture, 5000–4200 BP) 100.0%(=12/12) Dadianzi (Lower Xiajiadian culture, 4200–3600 BP) 60.0%(=3/5).

N-CTS4309: two people identified with this subgroup in Iraq. Very rare.

N1a (F1206/M2013/S11466)

The N1a2-F1008/L666 clade and N1a1-M46/Page70/Tat are estimated to share a most recent common ancestor in N1a-F1206/M2013/S11466 approximately 15,900 [95% CI 13,900 <-> 17,900] years before present or 17,621 [95% CI 14,952 <-> 20,282] years before present.

N1a1 (M46/Page70/Tat, L395/M2080)

All M46 in Yfull database are M178, being a quarter younger than separation from F1139.

The mutations that define the subclade N-M46 are M46/Tat and P105. This is the most frequent subclade of N. It probably arose in a Northeast Asian population, because the oldest ancient samples comply with this genetic profile. N has experienced serial bottlenecks in Siberia and secondary expansions in eastern Europe. Haplogroup N-M46 is approximately 14,000 years old.

In Siberia, haplogroup N-M46 reaches a maximum frequency of approximately 90% among the Yakuts, a Turkic people who live mainly in the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic. However, N-M46 is present with much lower frequency among many of the Yakuts' neighbors, such as Evenks and Evens. It also has been detected in 5.9% (3/51) of a sample of Hmong Daw from Laos, 2.4% (2/85) of a sample from Seoul, South Korea, and in 1.4% (1/70) of a sample from Tokushima, Japan. Y-DNA haplogroup N-M46 accounts for about 1.07% of all Y-DNA in present-day China; most of those (about 0.74% of all present-day Chinese males) belong to the basal N-F4063 subclade, but the N-M2058 > N-A9408 > N-Y77895 > N-Y70200 subclade (accounting for about 0.15% of all present-day Chinese males) and the N-CTS11808 > N-CTS10336 > N-Y6058 > N-Y16323 > N-F4205 subclade (accounting for about 0.07% of all present-day Chinese males) are also readily detectable. Notably, China also has a significant presence (accounting for approximately 0.51% of all present-day Chinese males) of N-MF14176, which is derived from N-F2584 but basal to N-M46.

The haplogroup N-M46 has a low diversity among Yakuts suggestive of a population bottleneck or founder effect. This was confirmed by a study of ancient DNA which traced the origins of the male Yakut lineages to a small group of horse-riders from the Cis-Baikal area.

N-Tat has been observed with greatly varying frequency in samples from Sweden. Karlsson et al. (2006) found N-Tat in 44.7% (17/38) of a sample of Saami nomads from Jokkmokk, 19.5% (8/41) of a sample from Västerbotten, 14.5% (8/55) of a sample from Uppsala, 10.0% (4/40) of a sample from Gotland, 9.5% (4/42) of a sample from Värmland, 7.3% (3/41) of a sample from Östergötland/Jönköping, 2.4% (1/41) of a sample from Blekinge/Kristianstad, and 2.2% (1/45) of a sample from Skaraborg.

Lappalainen et al. (2008) found N-Tat in 14.4% (23/160) of a sample from Sweden.

Lappalainen et al. (2009) found N-Tat in 15.4% (4/26) of a sample from Södermanland, 12.5% (3/24) of a sample from Västmanland, 12.1% (4/33) of a sample from Uppsala, 7.8% (4/51) of a sample from Gothenburg, 7.0% (3/43) of a sample from Norrbotten, 6.8% (5/73) of a sample from Skåne, 6.6% (15/228) of a sample from Stockholm, 6.3% (3/48) of a sample from Sydnorrland, 6.3% (2/32) of a sample from Västerbotten, 6.3% (2/32) of a sample from Örebro, 5.9% (3/51) of a sample from Värmland/Dalarna, 5.4% (2/37) of a sample from Östra Götaland, and 5.1% (2/39) of a sample from southeastern Sweden (Kalmar, Gotland, Kronoberg, and Blekinge). They did not find any instance of N-Tat in their samples from Jönköping (0/28), Malmö (0/29), Halland (0/34), or Västra Götaland (0/75).

N1a1a (M178)

The subclade N-M178 is defined by the presence of markers M178 and P298. N-M178* has higher average frequency in Northern Europe than in Siberia, reaching frequencies of approximately 60% among Finns and approximately 40% among Latvians, Lithuanians & 35% among Estonians.