Genetic studies on Moroccans

Moroccan genetics encompasses the genetic history of the people of Morocco, and the genetic influence of this ancestry on world populations. It has been heavily influenced by geography.
In prehistoric times, the Sahara desert to the south and the Mediterranean Sea to the north were important geographical barriers. West Asia and Northeast Africa form a single land mass at the Suez. The Maghreb and Southwest Europe are separated by only 15 km (9 mi) at the Straits of Gibraltar, and a similar distance separates the Horn of Africa from the Arabian peninsula at the Bab el-Mandeb strait. At periods of low sea-levels, such as during a glacial maximum, islands that are currently submerged in the Mediterranean, and possibly in between the Gibraltar straits, would have been habitable. These may have encouraged bidirectional demic diffusion between Africa and Europe. During wetter phases of the Sahara, some populations in central Africa would have moved north into southern parts of North Africa. West Asian populations would have also been attracted to a wet Sahara, arriving either through the Suez, the Bab el-Mandeb or the Mediterranean.
As a result of these geographic influences, the genetic profile of the Moroccan population is a complex mosaic of autochthonous Maghrebi lineages, as well as Northeast African, European, West Asian and West African elements in variable degrees. Though Northwest Africa has experienced gene flow from the surrounding regions, it has also undergone long periods of genetic isolation in some parts. This has allowed distinctive genetic markers to evolve in some Maghrebi populations, especially in certain isolated Berber-speaking groups.
Prehistory and antiquity.
The area of present-day Morocco has been thought to have been inhabited since Paleolithic times, sometime between 90,000 and 190,000 BC but that is no longer the case after the discovery of a 300,000 years homo sapien and instead, it is now suggested that it has been inhabited since primordial times by humans by the same evidence. During the [[Upper Paleolithic], the [[Maghreb]] was more fertile than it is today, resembling a [[savanna]] more than today's arid landscape. 22,000 years ago, the [[Aterian]] was succeeded by the [[Iberomaurusian]] culture, which shared similarities with Iberian cultures. Skeletal similarities have been observed between the Iberomaurusian [[Mechta-Afalou]] burials and European [[Cro-Magnon]] remains. The Iberomaurusian industry in Morocco was succeeded by the [[Capsian culture]].
[[File:Ptolemy of Mauretania Louvre Ma1887.jpg|thumb|right|Berber Roman King [[Ptolemy of Mauretania]].]]
[[File:Mosaic-Diana leaves her Bath (perspective fixed).jpg|thumb|right|Mosaic of Diana in [[Volubilis]].]]
[[File:Chellah interior hill.jpg|thumb|left|Ruins of [[Chellah]], [[Salé]].]]
[[File:Volubilis Longshot II.jpg|thumb|left|[[Volubilis]] ruins.]]
North Africa and Morocco were slowly drawn into the wider emerging [[Mediterranean]] world by the [[Phoenicians]], who established trading colonies and settlements in the early Classical period. Mogador was a Phoenician colony as early as the early 6th century BC.
Morocco later became part of a North African empire headquartered in [[Carthage]]. The earliest known independent Moroccan state was the [[Mauretania|Berber kingdom of Mauretania]] under king [[Bocchus I]]. This kingdom in northern Morocco, not to be confused with the present state of [[Mauritania]], dates at least to 110 BC.
The [[Roman Empire]] controlled this region from the 1st century BC, naming it [[Mauretania Tingitana]]. [[Christianity]] was introduced in the 2nd century AD and gained converts in the Roman towns, among [[slaves]] and some Berber farmers.
In the 5th century AD, as the Roman Empire declined, the region was invaded from the north first by the [[Vandals]] and then by the [[Visigoths]]. In the 6th century AD, northern Morocco was nominally part of the East Roman, or [[Byzantine Empire]]. Throughout this time, the Berber inhabitants in the high mountains of the interior of Morocco remained unsubdued.
Early Arab era.
In 670 AD, the first arab conquest of the [[North Africa]]n coastal plain took place under [[Uqba ibn Nafi]], a general serving under the [[Umayyad]]s of [[Damascus]]. The [[Umayyad]] Muslims brought their language, their system of government, and Islam to Morocco. Many of the Berbers slowly converted to Islam, mostly after Arab rule had receded. The first independent Berber state in the area of modern Morocco was the [[Kingdom of Nekor]], an emirate in the [[Rif Mountains]]. It was founded by [[Salih I ibn Mansur]] in 710, as a client state to the [[Rashidun Caliphate]]. After the outbreak of the [[Great Berber Revolt]] in 739, the Berbers formed other independent states such as the [[Miknasa]] of [[Sijilmasa]] and the [[Barghawata]].
According to medieval legend, [[Idris ibn Abdallah]] had fled to Morocco after the Abbasids' massacre of his tribe in Iraq. He convinced the [[Awraba]] Berber tribes to break their allegiance to the distant Abbasid caliphs in [[Baghdad]] and he founded the [[Idrisid Dynasty]] in 788. The Idrisids established [[Fes, Morocco|Fes]] as their capital and Morocco became a centre of Muslim learning and a major [[regional power]]. The Idrissids were ousted in 927 by the [[Fatimid Caliphate]] and their Miknasa allies. After Miknasa broke off relations with the Fatimids in 932, they were removed from power by the [[Maghrawa]] of Sijilmasa in 980.
Berber dynasties.
[[File:Empire almoravide.PNG|thumb|200px|right|The [[Almoravid empire|Almoravid]] realm at its greatest extent, [[Circa|c.]] 1120]]
[[File:Empire almohade.PNG|thumb|250px|left|The [[Almohad dynasty|Almohad]] realm at its greatest extent, c. 1212]]
From the 11th century onwards, a series of powerful Berber dynasties arose. Under the [[Almoravid dynasty]] and the [[Almohad dynasty]], Morocco dominated the Maghreb, much of present-day Spain and Portugal, and the western Mediterranean region. In the 13th and 14th centuries the [[Merinid Dynasty|Merinids]] held power in Morocco and strove to replicate the successes of the [[Almohad Caliphate|Almohads]] by military campaigns in Algeria and Spain. They were followed by the [[Wattasid dynasty|Wattasids]]. In the 15th century, the [[Reconquista]] ended Muslim rule in central and southern Spain and many [[Muslim]]s and [[History of the Jews in Morocco|Jews]] fled to Morocco. [[Portugal|Portuguese]] efforts to control the Atlantic coast in the 15th century did not greatly affect the interior of Morocco. According to Elizabeth Allo Isichei, "In 1520, there was a [[famine]] in Morocco so terrible that for a long time other events were dated by it. It has been suggested that the population of Morocco fell from 5 to under 3 million between the early sixteenth and nineteenth centuries."
Sharifian dynasties.
In 1549, the region fell to successive Arab dynasties claiming descent from the [[Prophets in Islam|Islamic prophet]], [[Muhammad]]: first the [[Saadi dynasty]] who ruled from 1549 to 1659, and then the [[Alaouite Dynasty|Alaouite dynasty]], who remained in power since the 17th century.
[[File:Augustins - Le Sultan du Maroc - Eugène Delacroix.jpg|thumb|The Sultan [[Abd al-Rahman of Morocco|Abderrahmane of Morocco]], by [[Eugène Delacroix]].]]
Under the Saadi Dynasty, the country repulsed [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] incursions and a [[Portuguese Empire|Portuguese]] invasion at the [[battle of Ksar el Kebir]] in 1578. The reign of [[Ahmad al-Mansur]] brought new wealth and prestige to the Sultanate, and a large expedition to West Africa inflicted a crushing defeat on the [[Songhay Empire]] in 1591. However, managing the territories across the [[Sahara]] proved too difficult. After the death of al-Mansur the country was divided among his sons.
In 1666 Morocco was reunited by the [[Alaouite Dynasty]], who have been the ruling house of Morocco ever since. Morocco was facing aggression from Spain and the Ottoman Empire lies pressing westward. The Alaouites succeeded in stabilizing their position, and while the kingdom was smaller than previous ones in the region, it remained quite wealthy. Against the opposition of local tribes [[Ismail Ibn Sharif]] (1672–1727) began to create a unified state. With his Jaysh d'Ahl al-Rif (the [[Rif]]fian Army) he seized [[English Tangier|Tangier]] from the [[Kingdom of England|English]] in 1684 and drove the [[Spanish Empire|Spanish]] from [[Larache]] in 1689.
Morocco was the first nation to recognize the fledgling United States as an independent nation in 1777. In the beginning of the [[American Revolution]], American merchant ships in the [[Atlantic Ocean]] were subject to attack by the [[Barbary pirates]]. On 20 December 1777, Morocco's Sultan [[Mohammed III of Morocco|Mohammed III]] declared that American merchant ships would be under the protection of the sultanate and could thus enjoy safe passage. The [[Moroccan-American Treaty of Friendship]], signed in 1786, stands as the U.S.'s oldest non-broken friendship [[treaty]].
Genetic evidence.
The genetic proximity observed between [[Moroccans]] and Southern Europeans is due to the fact that both these groups shared a common ancestor either in the [[Upper Paleolithic]], and in the [[Neolithic]] or, alternatively, during shared history in Southern Iberia by the [[Moorish]] troops. A genetic study published in January 2012 stated that the indigenous [[North West Africa]]n ancestry appears most closely related to populations outside of [[Africa]] but "divergence between [[Moroccan people]] and Near Eastern/[[Europe]]ans likely precedes the [[Holocene]] (>12,000 ya) and The [[Paleolithic]] (>40.000BC)."
Recent studies make clear no significant [[genetics|genetic]] differences exists between Arabic-speaking Moroccan populations and non-Arabic speaking Moroccan populations. The human leukocyte antigen [[Human leukocyte antigen|HLA]] [[DNA]] data suggest that most [[Moroccans]], both those of non-Arab [[ethnolinguistic]] identity and those of Arab ethnolinguistic identity, are of [[Berber people|Berber]] origin, and that the genealogical true [[Arabs]] from Arabia who invaded not only Morocco, but the rest of [[North Africa]] plus [[Spain]] in the 7th century, did not substantially contribute to the gene pool. The Moorish refugees from [[Al-Andalus|Spain]] settled in the coast-towns.
In fact, according to a 2000 article in "[[European Journal of Human Genetics]]", Moroccans from North-Western Africa were genetically closer to [[Iberians]] than to either [[Sub-Saharan African]]s of [[Bantu peoples|Bantu]] ethnicity and [[Middle East]]erners. The results suggest either a pre-historic kinship of Moroccans with Spaniards, or is a result of Moorish (i.e. Berber) input into Spain from Morocco, or is the result of genetic input into Morocco from Islamized indigenous Spaniards exiled to Morocco after the expulsion of Muslims from Spain following the Catholic Reconquista (where the Muslim expellees included not only the Moorish population who were the foreign-origin Muslim population which was ultimately mainly of Moroccan Berber origin in any event, but also many, if not mostly, Muslim expellees who were in fact indigenous Spanish converts to Islam) which resulted in a genetic input of Spanish DNA into Morocco far greater than any genetic input that genealogical Arabs from Arabia had on Moroccans during the Arab conquest of Morocco.
The different [[locus (genetics)|loci]] studied revealed close similarity between the [[Berber people|Berbers]] and other North African groups, mainly with Moroccan Arabic-speakers, which is in accord with the hypothesis that the current Moroccan population has a strong Berber background.
Various [[population genetics]] studies along with historians such as Gabriel Camps and Charles-André Julien lend support to the idea that the bulk of the gene pool of modern [[Northwest Africa]]ns, irrespective of linguistic group, is derived from the [[Berber people|Berber]] populations of the pre-Islamic period.
According to the X-Chromosome SNP analyses, the authors reported a high genetic homogeneity between berbers and Arabs in NW Africa, so they suggested that the [[Arabisation]] of this area was a cultural phenomenon, which did not imply a replacement of the ancestry population. Our results give support the hypothesis of an early settlement of northwest Africa. The original berber population seem to have received a low genetic influx from the surrounding areas. Different hypothesis have been suggested to explain the genetic differentiation of the Moroccan population. An initial genetic drift could have caused differences in allele frequency distribution that have not been re-established due to a certain level of geographic isolation. The Strait of Gibraltar has been described by several authors as an important genetic barrier. Even a certain level of genetic exchange probably occurred between NW Africa and the South of the Iberian Peninsula, sharp frequency changes have been described in this area. Also the Sahara desert has been suggested as responsible of the genetic isolation of NW African populations from Sub-Saharan populations. There is no consensus about the impact of the Neolithic demic diffusion in the Mediterranean area. According to our results, a low impact of the Neolithic expansions and/or later migration events on NW African populations would have occurred.
X-Chromosome SNP analyses
Moroccan Y-DNA chromosome.
E-M215.
[[File:E1b1bRoute.png|thumb|right|400px|Origin and dispersal of E-M215 and its subclades from East Africa.]]
[[Haplogroup E1b1b (Y-DNA)|E1b1b]] (E-M215) is the most prevalent haplogroup in North Africa. E-M215 and its dominant subclade E-M35 is thought to have emerged in East-Africa about 22,400 years ago, and would have later dispersed into North Africa and from there into West Asia.
The E1b1b1 clade is presently found in various forms in [[Morocco]]. Total E1b1b1 (E-M35) frequencies reached at 93.8% in [[Moroccans]].
E-M215 has two ancient branches that contain all known modern E-M215 men, E-M35 and E-M281. Of these two, the only branch that has been confirmed in a native population outside of [[Ethiopia]] is E-M35, which in turn has four known branches, [[Haplogroup E-V68 (Y-DNA)|E-V68]], [[Haplogroup E-Z827 (Y-DNA)|E-Z827]], E-V6 and E-V92. E-V68 and E-V257 have been found in highest numbers in [[North Africa]] and the [[Horn of Africa]]; but also in lower numbers in parts of the [[Middle East]] and [[Europe]], and in isolated populations of [[Southern Africa]].
E1b1b is dominant among [[Afro-Asiatic language|Afro-Asiatic speakers]]. The linguistic group and carriers of its E-M35 lineage have a high probability to have arisen and dispersed together from the [[Afro-Asiatic Urheimat|region of origin of this language family]], amongst populations with an Afro-Asiatic speaking history.
All major sub-branches of E-M35 are thought to have originated in the same general area as the parent clade: in [[North Africa]], [[Horn of Africa]], or nearby areas of the [[Near East]]. Some branches of E-M35 left Africa many thousands of years ago. For example, estimated that E-M78 (called E1b1b1a1 in that paper) has been in Europe longer than 10,000 years.
E-M81.
[[File:Y Hap EM-81.PNG|thumb|250px|Distribution of Y haplotype E-M81 E1b1b1b in North Africa, West Asia and Europe.]]
E1b1b1b1 (E-M81), formerly E1b1b1b, E3b1b, and E3b2, is the most common Y chromosome haplogroup in [[Morocco]], dominated by its subclade E-M183.
It is thought to have originated in North Africa 14,200 years ago. Its parent clade [[Haplogroup E1b1b (Y-DNA)|E1b1b (E-M215)]] is believed to have first appeared in Horn of Africa about 42,600 years ago.
This haplogroup reaches a mean frequency of 85% in [[North Africa]]. It decreases in frequency from approximately 80% or more in some Moroccan Berber populations, including Saharawis, to approximately 28% to the east of this range in Egypt.
Due to the clade's prevalence among these Berber groups and others such as [[Mozabite people|Mozabites]], [[Riffians]], [[Chleuhs]], [[Middle Atlas]] and [[Kabyle people|Kabyle]], it is sometimes referred to as a genetic Berber marker.
This phylogenetic tree of The Berber haplogroup subclades is based on the YCC 2008 tree and subsequent published research as summarized by ISOGG.
Average North African Moroccan Berbers have frequencies of E3b3 in the +80%. Alvarez "et al."(2009) study shows a frequency of E3b1b of 28/33 or 84.8% in Berbers from [[Marrakesh]]. With the rest of the frequencies being 1/33=3% E3a*, 1/33=3% E3b*, 1/33 or 3% E3b1a, and 1/33 or 3% E3b1c.
E1b1b (M81) are Proto-[[Berbers|Berber]] marker E1b1b1b1a1 (M107) A reduced Proto-[[Berbers|Berber]] lineage in [[Mali]].
E-M78.
[[File:Y Hap EM-78.PNG|thumb|250px|Distribution density of E1b1b1a (E-M78) in select areas of Africa and Eurasia.]]
The most basal and rare [[E-M78]]* paragroup has been found at lower frequencies in Moroccan Arabs. 
The sub-clade E-V65 is found in high levels in the [[Maghreb]] regions of far northern Africa. report levels of about 20% amongst [[Libya|Libyan Arab]] lineages, and about 30% amongst [[Demographics of Morocco|Moroccan Arabs]]. It appears to be less common amongst [[Berber people|Berbers]], but still present in levels of >10%. The authors suggest a North African origin for this lineage. In Europe, only a few individuals were found in Italy and Greece.
 studied the beta cluster in Europe. They found small amounts in Southern Italy, but also traces in Cantabria, Portugal and Galicia, with Cantabria having the highest level in Europe in their study, at 3.1% (5 out of 161 people).
Other frequencies of E1b1b1a1c (E-V22) is reported by Cruciani et al. (2007) include Moroccan Arabs (7.27%, 55 people) and [[Moroccan Jews]] (8%, 50 people).
J-P209.
[[File:Haplogroup J (Y-DNA) Map.png|thumb|250px|Haplogroup J (Y-DNA) distribution]]
Haplogroup J-P209 is believed to have arisen roughly 31,700 years ago in [[Southwest Asia]] (31,700±12,800 years ago according to ).
Haplogroup J-P209 is found in greatest concentration in Southwestern [[Arabian Peninsula]]. Outside of this region, haplogroup J-P209 has a presence in [[North Africa]]: [[Algeria]] (up to 35%) , [[Tunisia]] (up to 31%), [[Morocco]] (up to 20%) , Egypt (up to 20%) .
Other haplogroups.
[[File:Y Hap EM-123.PNG|thumb|250px|Haplogroup E-M123 (Y-DNA) Map.]]
Concerning E-M123 without checking for the E-M34 SNP is found at small frequencies in Morocco A Low regional percentages for E-M123 was reported in [[Moroccan Berbers]] around 3%. [[E-M123]] is also known as E1b1b1b2a (ISOGG 2012).
Eurasian haplogroups such as [[Haplogroup J1|Haplogroup J]] and [[Haplogroup R1b|Haplogroup R1]] have also been observed at very minimal frequencies. A thorough study by Cruciani et al. (2004) which analyzed populations from Morocco concludes that the North African pattern of Y-chromosomal variation (including both [[Haplogroup J1 (Y-DNA)|J1]] and R1b haplogroups) is largely of Neolithic origin, which suggests that the Neolithic transition in this part of the world was accompanied by demic diffusion of Berber-speaking pastoralists from the Algerian Desert into Eastern Morocco, although later papers have suggested that this date could have been as long as ten thousand years ago, with the transition from the Oranian to the [[Capsian culture|Capsian]] culture in North Africa.
Haplogroups G and T are rarely found in Morocco, In 147 samples taken in [[Morocco]], 1% were found to be G.
In another study 1% of 312 samples in Morocco were G.
Another study gathered samples only from hamlets in Morocco's Azgour Valley, where none of 33 samples were determined G. These hamlets were selected because they were felt to be typically [[Berber people|Berber]] in composition.
A study of 20 Moroccan [[Jews]] found 30% were G. The tested men were then apparently living in [[Israel]]. Another study of Jewish men found 19.3% of 83 Jewish men from Morocco belonged to haplogroup G. over G Moroccan samples are Likely Positive on the SNP G2a2b Haplogroup, it has been identified in neolithic human remains in Europe dating between 5000 and 3000BC.
Furthermore, the majority of all the male skeletons from the [[European Neolithic]] period have so far yielded Y-DNA belonging to this haplogroup like the mummified remains of [[Ötzi the Iceman]], [[The National Geographic Society]] places haplogroup G origins in the Middle East 30,000 years ago and presumes that people carrying the haplogroup took part in the spread of the Neolithic into Africa and then Europe Two percent of Arab [[Moroccans]] and 0% to 8% of Berber Moroccans of Asni Oasis were likewise found to be G.
Haplogroup T is found amongst central Berbers of [[Asni Oasis]] near the Algerian frontiers at 1,9% and observed in [[Moroccan Jews]] at 4%.
E1b1a is found at low frequencies in Morocco these lineages are found in some specific areas specially around the Great Desert Linked to the Slavery trade across the sahara like the presence of [[Haratins]] or [[Gnawa]] amongst Berbers of Asni Oasis located in North central Morocco near the Algerian frontiers, Sahrawis, Moroccan Arabs and in Southern Morocco.
The most basal and rare E1a* paragroup has been found at lower frequencies in samples obtained from Moroccan Berbers, and Sahrawis. dated around 45.000BC Linked to Back-Eurasian Migration from the Near East into North Africa along together with E1b1b during the Paleolithic times.
Haplogroup distributions in Moroccan Populations.
[[File:Morocco Y-DNA Distribution.png|alt=|thumb|350x350px|Moroccan Y-DNA Haplogroups Distribution Chart]]
The major components of Y-DNA haplogroups present in Moroccan Berbers (E3b ; 94%) are shared with European and neighboring North African and Near Eastern populations. Minor share of haplogroups also include those related to North West Africans (E1a, A1a; 1%), Near Easterners (J, G, T; 2,4%), Sub Saharans Africans (E3a; 1,7%) and Europeans (R1b, I1; 2%) affinity.
Some of the major percentages identified were:
Berber Genetic Identity of Moroccans.
[[File:A big group shot!.jpg|thumb|250px|Berber children in Morocco.]]
The prehistoric populations of Morocco, who were ancestral to Berbers, were related to the wider group of Paleo-Mediterranean peoples.
The [[Afroasiatic languages|Afroasiatic]] family probably originated during the Mesolithic period, perhaps in the context of the [[Capsian culture]]. DNA analysis has found commonalities between Berber Moroccan populations and those of the [[Sami people]] of Scandinavia showing a link dating from around 9,000 years ago.
Around 5000 BC, the populations of North Africa were primarily descended from the makers of the [[Iberomaurusian]] and Capsian cultures, with a more recent intrusion associated with the [[Neolithic revolution]]. The proto-Berber tribes evolved from these prehistoric communities during the Late Bronze to Early Iron Age.
Genetic Prehistoric Expansions.
DNA evidence suggests that during the [[Last Glacial Maximum]], a period between 25,000 and 19,000 years ago, large ice sheets over a kilometer thick covered much of Northern Europe, making the region uninhabitable to humans. It is believed that human populations retreated south to warmer regions near the Mediterranean. Refuges during this period are believed to have been in [[Iberian Peninsula|Iberia]], the [[Balkans]] and [[Italian Peninsula|Italy]]. There was some [[gene flow]] from [[Morocco]] into [[Iberia]].
After the glacial maximum, when the European climate warmed up, the refuges are thought to have been the source from which Europe was repopulated. Berber lineages that had been introduced into the Iberian refuge would have then dispersed all over Europe with the Northward expansion of humans. This could explain the presence of genetic lineages in Eastern Europe and as far north as Russia, that appear to have prehistoric links to Northwest Africa, mainly [[Morocco]] (see [[African admixture in Europe#mtDNA|mtDNA]]). The expansion of human populations from Iberian refuges is also believed to have moved back to [[Morocco]] and [[Northwest Africa]].
Neolithic to the end of the prehistoric.
The change from [[Hunter-gatherer|hunting and gathering]] to agriculture during the [[Neolithic Revolution]] was a watershed in world history. The societies that first made the change to agriculture are believed to have lived in [[North Africa]] and Middle East around 10,000 BCE. Agriculture was introduced into Europe by migrating farmers from the Middle East. According to the [[demic diffusion]] model, these Middle Eastern farmers either replaced or interbred with the local hunter-gather populations that had been living in Europe since the "out of Africa" migration.
It has been suggested that the first Middle Eastern farmers had [[North Africa]]n influences mainly from the [[Capsian culture]]. There have been suggestions that some genetic lineages found in the Middle East arrived there during this period. The first Agricultural societies in the Middle East are generally thought to have emerged from the [[Natufian Culture]], which existed in Palestine from 12,000 BCE-10,000 BCE. An important migration from North-West Africa occurred by the [[Ibero-Maurisian]]s from [[Morocco]] across the [[Sinai Peninsula|Sinai]] appears to have occurred before the formation of the Natufian.
Genetic continuity in Morocco.
In 2013, skeletons belonging to the makers of the [[Epipaleolithic]] [[Iberomaurusian]] culture, which were excavated at the prehistoric sites of [[Taforalt]] and [[Mechta-Afalou|Afalou]], were analyzed for ancient DNA. All of the specimens belonged to maternal clades associated with either North Africa or the northern and southern Mediterranean littoral, indicating gene flow between these areas since the Epipaleolithic. The ancient Taforalt individuals carried the Y-DNA haplogroup [[E1b1b]] and the mtDNA haplogroups [[Haplogroup U6 (mtDNA)|U6]], [[Haplogroup H (mtDNA)|H]], [[Haplogroup JT (mtDNA)|JT]] and [[Haplogroup V (mtDNA)|V]], which points to population continuity in the region dating from the Iberomaurusian period.
Genetic Berber Heritage continuity of Moroccan Arabs.
The cultural differentiation present in North Africa between Berber and Arab samples seems not to reflect genetic differences between both groups, as shown in the AMOVA analyses, and the MDS and PC analyses. If [[Arabs]] in Northern Africa were mostly descendants of Middle Eastern Arabs, the frequencies of haplogroups such as N, U1, U3, U7, and HV that are much more prevalent in the Middle East than elsewhere should be larger in North African Arabs than in Berbers. However, the opposite is observed : these haplogroups add up to 5% in North African Arabs but to 10% in Berbers.
The lack of differentiation between North African Arabs and Berbers has also been observed using other genetic markers such as classical markers (Bosch et al. 1997); autosomal STRs (Bosch et al. 2000), Alu insertion polymorphisms (Comas et al. 2000); and Y-chromosome lineages 
This pattern suggests that the Arabization of the area was mainly a cultural process, rather than a demographic replacement of the Berber populations that inhabited the region where the Arabic expansion took place.
Moroccan Mitochondrial mtDNA.
The Moroccan mitochondrial pool is essentially Berber in its structure, characterized by an "overall high frequency of Western Eurasian haplogroups" Represented by the Post-last glacial maximum expansion from Iberia to North Africa revealed by fine characterization of mtDNA HV haplogroup in Morocco is Estimated around 36% to 60%, a somehow lower frequency of sub-Saharan L lineages, and a significant (but differential) presence of North African haplogroups U6 and M1". And according to Cherni et al. 2008 "the post-Last glacial maximum expansion originating in Iberia not only led to the resettlement of Europe but also of North Africa".
Eurasian mtDNA (maternal) sequences, were detected at frequencies of 96% in Moroccan Berbers, 82% in Algerian Berbers and 78% in non-Berber Moroccans, compared with only 4% in a Senegalese population. ()
Until recently, some papers suggested that the distribution of the main L haplogroups in Morocco was mainly due to trans-Saharan slave trade. However, in September 2010, a thorough study about Berber mtDNA by Fregel." concluded that most of L haplogroups were much older and introduced by an ancient African gene flow around 20,000 years ago.
Moroccan Northern and Southern Berbers have only 3% to 1% of SSA mtDNA, This north-south gradient in the sub-Saharan contribution to the gene pool is supported by "Esteban et al.", for the rest of mtDNA lineages mostly are Caucasian/West Eurasian, while Moroccan Arabs have more elevated SSA maternal admixture at around 21% to 36% Via L-mtDNA sequences, Highest frequencies of L-mtDNA is Reported to Moroccan Arabs of The Surrounding area of El jadida at 36% and this is largely ascribed to the [[Arab slave trade|slave trade]].
Frequencies (> 1%) of L-mtDNA
Genetic influence of Moroccans on Southern Europe.
[[File:Map of African admixture in European populations.png|thumb|Map of North and Sub-Saharan African admixture in European populations]]
Trombetta et al. (2011) felt that V257 showed a parallel with its sibling clade [[E1b1b1a|E-V68]] in the way that both clades show signs of having migrated from North West Africa Likely Morocco to southwestern Europe across the Mediterranean sea. They found 6 "E-V257*" individuals in their samples who were E-V257, from a Moroccan Marrakesh Berber, a Corsican, a Sardinian, a southern Spaniard and a Cantabrian.
A study from Semino (published 2004) showed that [[Y-chromosome]] [[Haplogroup E1b1b (Y-DNA)|haplotype E1b1b1b]] (E-M81), is specific to [[Morocca]]n populations and almost absent in Europe except [[Iberian Peninsula|Iberia]] ([[Spain]] and [[Portugal]]) and Sicily.
Y-chromosome analysis of the Iberian peninsula according to which haplogroup E1b1b1b surpasses frequencies of 10% in Southern Spain. The study points only to a very limited influence from northern Africa and the Middle East both in historic and prehistoric times. The absence of microsatellite variation suggests a very recent arrival from Morocco consistent with historical exchanges across the Mediterranean during the period of Islamic expansion, namely of Berber populations. A study restricted to [[Portugal]], concerning Y-chromosome lineages, revealed that "The mtDNA and Y data indicate that the Berber presence in that region dates prior to the Moorish expansion in 711 AD. ... Our data indicate that male Berbers, unlike sub-Saharan immigrants, constituted a long-lasting and continuous community in the country".
Haplotype V(p49/TaqI), a characteristic Moroccan haplotype, may be also found in the Iberian peninsula, and a decreasing North-South cline of frequency clearly establishes a gene flow from Morocco towards Iberia which is also consistent with [[Moors|Moorish]] presence in the peninsula. This North-South cline of frequency of haplotype V is to be observed throughout the Mediterranean region, ranging from frequencies of close to 30% in southern Portugal to around 10% in southern France. Similarly, the highest frequency in Italy is to be found in the southern island of Sicily (28%).
A wide-ranging study (published 2007) using 6,501 unrelated Y-chromosome samples from 81 populations found that: "Considering both these E-M78 sub-haplogroups (E-V12, E-V22, E-V65) and the E-M81 haplogroup, the contribution of Moroccan lineages to the entire male gene pool of [[Iberian Peninsula|Iberia]] (barring Pasiegos), continental [[Italy]] and [[Sicily]] can be estimated as 5.6%, 3.6% and 6.6%, respectively."
A study about [[Sicily]] by Gaetano "et al." 2008 found that "The Hg E3b1b-M81, widely diffused in northwestern African Moroccan populations, is estimated to contribute to the Sicilian gene pool at a rate of 6%.".
"The study shows that religious conversions and the subsequent marriages between people of different lineage had a relevant impact on modern populations both in Spain, especially in the Balearic Islands, and in Portugal",
In Europe, E-M81 is found everywhere but mostly in the [[Iberian Peninsula]], where unlike in the rest of Europe it is more common than E-M78, with an average frequency around 5%. The highest frequencies of this clade found so far in Europe were observed in the [[Valles Pasiegos|Pasiegos]] from [[Cantabria]], ranging from 18% (8/45) to 41% (23/56). An average frequency of 8.28% (54/652) has also been reported in the Spanish [[Canary Islands]] with frequencies over 10% in the three largest islands of [[Tenerife]] (10.68%), [[Gran Canaria]] (11.54%) and [[Fuerteventura]] (13.33%).
Genetic influences on Latin America.
As a consequence of Spanish and Portuguese colonization of Latin America, E-M81 is also found throughout [[Latin America]] and among Latin American men in USA.
Other regions.
In other countries, Moroccan Berber haplogroups can be found in [[Egypt]], [[France]], [[Sudan]], [[Somalia]], [[Jordan]], [[Lebanon]], [[Saudi Arabia]], and amongst [[Sephardi Jews]].
References.
[[Category:Moroccan society]]
[[Category:Science and technology in Morocco]]
[[Category:Modern human genetic history]]