A report on Haplogroup G (mtDNA), Haplogroup M (mtDNA) and Ainu people

Haplogroup G is a descendant of haplogroup M.

Haplogroup G is one of the most common mtDNA haplogroups among modern Ainu, Japanese, Mongol, and Tibetan people (as well as among people of the prehistoric Jōmon culture in Hokkaidō).

It peaks in the Malaysian aboriginal Negrito tribes at almost 100% but with mtDNA M21a representing Semang; 84% in Mendriq people, Batek people 48%, (almost all belong to the specific Malaysian Negrito haplogroup M21a, this subclade also found in the Orang Asli 21%, Thais 7.8% and Malay 4.6%) It also peaks very high in Japan and Tibet, where it represents on average about 70% of the maternal lineages (160/216 = 74% Tibet, 205/282 = 73% Tōkai, 231/326 = 71% Okinawa, 148/211 = 70% Japanese, 50/72 = 69% Tibet, 150/217 = 69% Hokkaidō, 24/35 = 69% Zhongdian Tibetan, 175/256 = 68% northern Kyūshū, 38/56 = 68% Qinghai Tibetan, 16/24 = 67% Diqing Tibetan, 66/100 = 66% Miyazaki, 33/51 = 65% Ainu, 214/336 = 64% Tōhoku, 75/118 = 64% Tokyo (JPT) ) and is ubiquitous in India and South Korea, where it has approximately 60% frequency.

Among the descendant lineages of haplogroup M are C, D, E, G, Q, and Z.

Based on analysis of one sample of 51 modern Ainu, their mtDNA lineages consist mainly of haplogroup Y [11⁄51 = 21.6% according to Tanaka et al. 2004, or 10⁄51 = 19.6% according to Adachi et al. 2009, who have cited Tajima et al. 2004], haplogroup D [9⁄51 = 17.6%, particularly D4 (xD1)], haplogroup M7a (8⁄51 = 15.7%), and haplogroup G1 (8⁄51 = 15.7%).