Origins
There is an ongoing debate concerning geographical origins of Haplogroup M and its sibling haplogroup N. Both these lineages are thought to have been the main surviving lineages involved in the out of Africa migration (or migrations) because all indigenous lineages found outside Africa belong to either haplogroup M or haplogroup N. Yet to be conclusively determined is whether the mutations that define haplogroups M and N occurred in Africa before the exit from Africa or in Asia after the exit from Africa. Determining the origins of haplogroup M is further complicated by the fact that it is found both in Africa and outside of Africa.
It is generally accepted that haplogroup M evolved shortly after the emergence of its parent clade haplogroup L3. Apart from haplogroup M and its sibling haplogroup N, the numerous other subclades of L3 are largely restricted to Africa, which suggests that L3 arose in Africa. In Africa, haplogroup M, specifically its subclade M1, has a fairly restricted distribution, being found mainly in East and North Africa at low to moderate frequencies. The limited distribution of haplogroup M in Africa and its widespread presence outside Africa, suggests that this lineage emerged very close to the time of the Out of Africa migration, either shortly before or shortly after the exit from Africa.
Read more about this topic: Haplogroup M (mt DNA)
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