Inquiry about u, u4 and u5

[roma]

Hi!

i received my mtDNA results yesterday. My mtDNA is u4. i googled u4 and learned my line is descended from Ulrike. From some websites i learned Ulrike is the daughter of U named Ursula. Today i found a website that says u5 is Ursula. Can anyone verify this? i e-mailed my brother and cousins the information i learned yesterday and i want to make sure it's accurate.

Regards,

roma

[cacio]

Roma:

these names were made up by Sykes in an attempt to create some buzz. In his first book, he ignored the differences between the various U subgroups, an he made up just one name, Ursula. Probably, most of the observations he was thinking about belonged to U5 (the most common subgroup in Europe). Then, when the various subgroups U1-U8 (and more) were described, he made up other names (inlcuding Ulrike for U4), and reserved the name Ursula to U5. Either way, these names have no scientific meaning.

Haplogroup U is a big group, which originated maybe in India (or Central Asia) 40-60K years ago. It has many subgroups, spread in various ways from India to the Middle East to Europe (and, incidentally, K is also a subgroup of U). Overall, U comprises up to a quarter of all Europeans (and is thus second to H). Common subgroups of U in Europe are U5, U4 and U2 (in addition to K. By the way, I am also U, but U1a, which is a more middle eastern thing).

If you post your results on mitosearch, or specify your country of origin, it may be possible to give more information regarding the frequency and other characteristics of U4 in the area.

cacio

[roma]

Thank you.

roma