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Druze are "genetic sanctuary," "living relic" for DNA researchers

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The Druze harbor a remarkable diversity of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) types or lineages that appear to have separated from each other many thousands of years ago, according to a new study.

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Instead of dispersing throughout the world after their separation, the full range of lineages can still be found within the small, tightly knit Druze population.

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Scientists noted that the Druze represent a "genetic sanctuary" or "living relic" for DNA researchers and that the findings are consistent with Druze oral tradition suggesting the adherents came from diverse ancestral lineages "stretching back tens of thousands of years," long before Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt (the Druze revere Moses' father-in-law, Jethro, as a central figure, particularly in the rites and pilgrimages, of their religion).

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What is an mtDNA haplogroup? 

The researchers looked at mitochondrial DNA, a type of genetic material that is passed down virtually unchanged from mother to daughter, providing a snapshot of the ancestry of a person.

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Phylogenetic clustering of mtDNA haplogroups has been found to correlate with geography, such that different haplogroups often correspond to specific geographic origins.

For example, the L haplogroup is a hallmark of the African continent, where almost 95% of the inhabitants belong to the different lineages of this mtDNA haplogroup. Haplogroup L can also be found at low frequencies in other regions of the world due to migration events.

Similarly, haplogroups A and B are predominantly found among Native Americans.

Haplogroup X is one of the exceptions to this pattern of limited geographical distribution, and is found at low frequencies among West Eurasians, northern groups of Native Americans, as well as in northern Africa and the Near East.

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Druze mtDNA is distinct and unique

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Haplogroup X is one of rarest matrilinear haplogroups in Europe, being found only in about 2% of the overall population.

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When scientist took genetic samples from households in villages in Northern Israel, they soon discovered an unusually high frequency of mtDNA haplogroup X.

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In fact, the greatest worldwide frequency of haplogroup X is observed in the Druze in Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria, as much in X1 (16%) as in X2 (11%).

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"We have examined mitochondrial DNA sequence variation together with Y-chromosome-based haplogroup structure among the Druze, and observed a striking overall pattern of heterogeneous parental origins, consistent with Druze oral tradition, together with both a high frequency and a high diversity of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) X haplogroup within a confined regional subpopulation. The Druze harbor a remarkable diversity of mitochondrial DNA types or lineages that appear to have separated from each other many thousands of years ago."

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Subhaplogroups Examples

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Haplogroups can be further divided into two subclades (subgroups of haplogroups). Here are examples of subhaplogroups and their associating geographic region:

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• X1'2'3

  • X1'3

    • X1

      • X1a: found in the Levant (Druzes) and Egypt

      • X1c: found in the Levant (Druzes) and Tunisia. Isolated samples have been reported in Italy, Ireland and Norway.

    • X3

      • X3a: found in the Levant (Druzes), Tunisia and Spain (Asturias)​

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Galilee Druze have the highest X haplogroups

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The Druze have the greatest diversity of X lineages of any population on earth, possessing X1a, X1c, X2b, X2e, X2f, X2h and X3 lineages. Haplogroup X is completely absent from the extreme east and north areas of Europe.

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"One particularly exceptional example of both high diversity and high frequency of haplogroup X was the Galilee heights village of Peq'in, where 6 of 17 households (35.3%) belonged to four distinct lineages of haplogroup X (X1a, X1b, X2e and X2*), yielding a calculated genetic diversity for both X1 and X2 of 0.667±0.02. This village, is believed to be one of the oldest Druze villages in Israel, and is mentioned in historical records dating from the 13th century. These records specifically note that certain villages in the Galilee accepted the Druze religion during the “Dawa” and never left this geographic region."