Haplogroup M-P256
Possible time of origin	32,000-47,000 years BP[1]
Possible place of origin	Wallacea (eastern Indonesia) orNew Guinea [2]
Ancestor	K2b1
Defining mutations	P256

Haplogroup M, AKAM-P256 andHaplogroup K2b1b (previously K2b1d) is aY-chromosome DNA haplogroup. M-P256 is a descendant haplogroup ofHaplogroup K2b1, and is believed to have first appeared between 32,000 and 47,000 years ago.^[1]

M-P256 is the most frequently occurring Y-chromosome haplogroup inWest Papua and westernPapua New Guinea.^[3] In addition, M-P256 is also found in neighboring parts ofMelanesia,Indonesia andindigenous Australians.

Thisphylogenetic tree of haplogroup subclades is based primarily on the trees published byYCC in 2008^[4] and ISOGG in 2016.^[5]

• M* (P256)
  • M1 (M4, M5/P73, M106, M186, M189, M296, P35)
    • M1a(P34_1, P34_2, P34_3, P34_4, P34_5)
      • M1a1 (P51)
      • M1a2 (P94)
    • M1b (P87)
      • M1b1 (M104_1/P22_1, M104_2/P22_2)
        • M1b1a (M16)
        • M1b1b (M83)
  • M2 (M353, M387)
    • M2a (M177/SRY9138)
  • M3 (P117, P118)

The paragroup M-P256* is found at a low frequency inNew Guinea (6.3%) andFlores (2.5%).^[2]

This group is found frequently inNew Guinea andMelanesia, with a moderate distribution in neighboring parts ofIndonesia,Micronesia, andPolynesia.

• Una 100%^[3]
• Ketengban 100%^[3]
• Awyu 100%^[3]
• Citak 86%^[3]
• Asmat 75%^[3]
• West Papua
  • Lowlands/coast 77.5%^[3]
  • Highlands 74.5%^[3]
• Kombai/Korowai 46%^[3]
• Papua New Guinea
  • Coast 29%^[3]
  • Highlands 35.5%^[3]
• Tolai (New Britain) 31%^[3]
• Trobriand Islands 30%^[3]
• Maluku (Moluccas) 21%^[3]
• Torres Strait Islanders (Australia): up to 2.0% – i.e. 0.9% of samples, when 45% of the total were deemed to be "non-indigenous"^[6]

An extreme geographical outlier was apparently identified in a 2012 study, which reported aHazara individual fromMazar-e Sharif, Afghanistan, with M1 (among a sample of 60 males from the mentioned area).^[7] The Hazara individual carried the SNP M186 (which is believed to be equivalent to M4).

M1a (M-P34) is the most frequently occurring Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup inWestern New Guinea. It is also found with moderate frequency in neighboring parts ofIndonesia (Maluku,Nusa Tenggara) and throughoutPapua New Guinea, including offshore islands.^[3][8]

M1b M-P87(xM104/P22) has been found in approximately 18% (20/109) of a pool of samples fromNew Ireland, approximately 12% (5/43) of a sample ofLavongai fromNew Hanover, approximately 5% (19/395) of a pool of samples fromNew Britain (and, in particular, in about 24% (15/63) ofBaining fromEast New Britain), in addition to oneSaposa individual from northernBougainville, and another individual from the north coast ofPapua New Guinea.^[1]

The subclade M1b1 (M104_1/P22_1, M104_2/P22_2) is found frequently in populations of theBismarck Archipelago andBougainville Island, with a moderate distribution inNew Guinea,Fiji,Tonga,East Futuna, andSamoa.^[1][9]

M2 is found at a low frequency inFiji andEast Futuna.^[10]

The subclade M2a (M-M177, also referred to as M-SRY9138) has been found in oneNasioi individual from the eastern coast ofBougainville and in one individual fromMalaita Province of theSolomon Islands.^[11]

Alternative names previously used within peer-reviewed literature for the M2a subclade are listed below.

M3 (P117, P118) is found frequently in populations ofNew Britain, and is also observed occasionally in northernBougainville,Fiji, andEast Futuna.^[9][1]

Prior to 2002, at least seven different naming systems for the Y chromosome phylogenetic tree were used within academic literature, leading to considerable confusion. To resolve this, in 2002, major research groups collaborated to form the Y-Chromosome Consortium (YCC). This resulted in a joint paper publication that contained a single new tree as a standard to use by the scientific community. Later, another group of scientists with an interest in population genetics and genetic genealogy worked to continually improve the naming system.

The table below brings together the nomenclature used in Haplogroup M studies, prior to the landmark 2002 YCC Tree, enabling researchers reviewing older literature to quickly convert between the different nomenclatures that were in use.

Sources

The following research teams per their publications were represented in the creation of the YCC Tree.

Karafet's 2008 paper introduced a number of changes, compared to the previous2006 ISOGG tree.^[4] Before the discovery of the P256 marker, the current subgroup M-M4 (defined by the M4 marker) previously represented the whole of Haplogroup M-P256; and subgroups M2 and M3 were formerly classed as subgroups K1 and K7 of the parentHaplogroup K.^{[citation needed]}

• Spread of Haplogroup M, fromNational Geographic

Wikimedia Commons has media related toHaplogroup M of Y-DNA.

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• Human Y-DNA haplogroups

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