Haplogroup W (mtDNA)


Haplogroup W is a human mitochondrial DNA haplogroup.

Origin

Haplogroup W is believed to have originated around 23,900 years ago in Western Asia. It is descended from the haplogroup N2.

Distribution

Haplogroup W is found in Europe, Western Asia and South Asia. It is widely distributed at low frequencies, with a high concentration in Northern Pakistan. Haplogroup W is also found in the Maghreb among Algerians.
Additionally, the clade has been observed among ancient Egyptian mummies excavated at the Abusir el-Meleq archaeological site in Middle Egypt, which date from the Ptolemaic Kingdom.
The W5 subclade has been found in a fossil associated with the Starčevo culture.
Ancient DNA analysis found that the medieval individual Sungir 6 belonged to the W3a1 subclade.

Subclades

Tree

This phylogenetic tree of haplogroup W subclades is based on the paper by Mannis van Oven and Manfred Kayser Updated comprehensive phylogenetic tree of global human mitochondrial DNA variation and subsequent published research.