R-M222 Haplogroup Project (formerly the R1b1c7 Project)- Background

Background

TheR-M222 branch of the Y-DNA tree is defined by a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)called M222. This diagnostic marker is associated with many individuals whoseroots lie in the counties of Northwest Ireland, Ulster and Lowland Scotland.The shaded footprint in the map at left shows the area where this profile ismost often found. In no county is this pattern the dominant DNA profile, but insome counties (Donegal in NW Ireland, for example) it approaches 20 percent.

Themap is intended only to show a population concentration; R-M222 individualshave roots within the oval but are not constrained by it. R-M222 individualshave been found in nearby areas outside the footprint -- in the Western Islesand in Orkney, for example, as well as in the North of England adjacent to the ScottishBorder. A very few individuals have been found in Iceland, Norway and Germany.

The M222 SNP is now called R1b1a2a1a1b4b.

TheR-M222 project is open to all individuals who have a derived (i.e., positive) testresult on the M222 SNP. The project also welcomes individuals who have not beenSNP tested, but whose haplotypes show most of the following values:

DYS390=25
DYS385b = 13
DYS392 = 14
DYS448 = 18
DYS449 = 30
DYS464 = 15-16-16-17
DYS456 = 17
DYS607 = 16
DYS413 = 21-23
YS534 = 16
YS481 = 25 (FTDNAconvention; = 24 EthnoAncestry convention)*
YS714 = 24

In March 2007 EthnoAncestry recalibrated their reports on several markers.Previous to that recalibration, the reported values for DYS481 in R-M222individuals was 22 or23, and those values may still be seen in olderdiscussions of the haplotype in Internet lists. In most cases the first threeSTRs in the list above are adequate to establish membership in this group. Ifyou have at least two of those three values and differ by only one at themismatching marker, you are very probably (though not certainly) a member ofthe R-M222 haplogroup. If you are uncertain about whether you belong toHaplogroup R-M222, please contact the project administrators for advice.

SincetheR-M222 project is a resource for individuals who have already determined a haplotype,it is anticipated that no one will order a DNA test through theR-M222 project.For that reason the project does not accept automatic enrollment of new testorders. To join the project, click the "Join Groups" link on yourpersonal page, then "R" in the Y-Haplogroup section of the optionlist that appears, then "R-M222." Finally, click on "Send joinrequest."

The cluster now known as the R-M222group was first recognized in late 2004 following manual cluster analysis ofseveral hundred R-M269 haplotypes in Ysearch. A preliminary modal haplotype wasestablished at that time based on roughly six dozen similar haplotypes. It wasnoted that family names associated with the cluster were almost entirely Irishor Scot. The cluster was initially referred to as the 25/11/14 cluster based onthe dominant values for DYS390, 391 and 392. In late 2005 a research team fromTrinity College Dublin published a report that identified this cluster based onthe distinctive values at DYS390 and 392. The research team called this patternthe Irish Modal Haplotype, or IMH, and provocatively suggested that thehaplotype was to be associated with the Ui Neill kings of Northern Ireland whodescended from the fifth century warlord Niall of the Nine Hostages. Since thehaplotype is not in fact modal in Ireland – though a distinctive haplotype, itis a minor one – one should perhaps more properly call this pattern theNorthwest Irish/Lowland Scots Variety of R1b1c. That recognizes the fact thatit is most concentrated in Donegal (nearly 20 percent of the population) andnearby counties to the south and west (five to 10 percent). It is also found inLowland Scotland and the Western Isles at a percentage that is hard to determine but may also be in the five to 10percent range. In February of 2006, one of the administrators (DCW) predictedthat the Northwest Irish/Lowland Scots variety would be found to correlate withthe rarely tested SNP M222 and commissioned a custom lab analysis to test thehypothesis. The result, returned in March 2006, was positive. Immediatelyafterwards different labs began offering M222 as part of deep clade testingprograms, and hundreds of individuals have now been found positive for the M222SNP. The modal haplotype for the Northwest Irish/Lowland Scots Variety, andtherefore for R-M222, can be seen on Ysearch as record M5UKQ.

A separate website with additionalinformation on M222 may be found here. An M222 mail list is maintained throughRootsweb.com. A link for joining may be found here.Relevant studies: Download the Trinity College Dublin Study (Moore/McEvoy) here. The raw study data can be found here.