Genes predict village of origin in rural Europe.
O'Dushlaine C., McQuillan R., Weale ME., Crouch DJM., Johansson A., Aulchenko Y., Franklin CS., Polašek O., Fuchsberger C., Corvin A., Hicks AA., Vitart V., Hayward C., Wild SH., Meitinger T., van Duijn CM., Gyllensten U., Wright AF., Campbell H., Pramstaller PP., Rudan I., Wilson JF.
The genetic structure of human populations is important in population genetics, forensics and medicine. Using genome-wide scans and individuals with all four grandparents born in the same settlement, we here demonstrate remarkable geographical structure across 8-30 km in three different parts of rural Europe. After excluding close kin and inbreeding, village of origin could still be predicted correctly on the basis of genetic data for 89-100% of individuals.