Results of Y chromosome testing for Allaluf project

Questions? Contact me at bedford@u.arizona.edu

Two Allaloufs have the haplogroup R-V88. (R1b1c). This is a rare haplogroup and should not to be confused with very common other branches of R one hears about frequently, such as R1b1a1a…  R-V88 is most well known for being prominent in Africa, but undoubtedly our branches are different than the African ones. (Note that being designated “R-V88” means that the individual has a mutation at a position along the Y chromosome that came to be labeled as position V88)

There are four recognized branches of V88 in the literature based on whether or not the person also has a mutation at  M18, V35,V69 (African), or V8. To make a long story short, we know have evidence that Allaloufs with v88 do not have a mutation at any of these 4 branches.  Details available upon request. So ours is asyet undocumented branch. At some point last year, FTDNA claimed there was another branch that they themselves discovered, characterized by a mutation at….However, from what I can tell so far, everyone who is V88 has tested positive(having a mutation) at this new position, so not sure what their data was based on.

Our two Allaloufs differ from each other on the 12 markers they both tested on sofar at DYS-385, with one member having a value of 15 and the other 16. This isa small stretch of DNA that is known for having a particularly fast rate ofmutation, so the difference here in number of copies at the position (15 or 16)really does not rule out a close connection (near ancestor) of both of these individuals. Even a father and son can have a one marker difference at DYS-385.For one of the allalouf’s we are waiting on an upgrade from 12 markers to 37markers.

Both are Sephardic from Salonica (now Greece), one line went to France, the other to US. They are unaware of any common ancestor between them. Some believe all Allaluf from Salonica were part of one family.

At the other  positions of the 12 markers, the two Allalouf men are identical. If we look at others who have a related pattern of results (the numbers of repeats at the  12 STR positions), we find: another Sephardic surnamef rom Salonica (several with same surname, unrelated to one another), Mexican individuals who one wonders if they are Conversos, a few with a particular Spanish surname that seems Basque in origin, and an Askenazi cluster from Eastern Europe (as with most Askenazi clusters, when you find them, they are huge because of the Ashkenazi unusual extreme population bottleneck followed by extreme population explosion; the size cannot be used to determine origin of the haplogroup branch).  The origin that led to all these related clusters  may be Turkey/Armenia but not sure yet.  When we get more than 12 markers on our Allalouf folk, I may say more on how they are related to the other clusters.

See also Background and Goals sections for additional information

Felice Bedford