Overview
O-F8 is a very large and influential subcluster within O-M117 and accounts for the overwhelming majority of M117 lineages in modern China. Genetic studies of Chinese populations have estimated that O-F8 alone represents the Y chromosomes of roughly 15 percent of all Chinese males, making it one of the biggest Y-chromosome founder lineages known worldwide. Its expansion is associated with late Neolithic demographic growth and the spread of early Chinese cultural complexes across northern and central China.
Geographic distribution
F8 is extremely common among Han Chinese across many provinces, including Shandong, Henan, Jiangsu, Anhui, Hubei and Guangdong. It is also found in Korean and Japanese populations, and appears among various minority groups in China, such as Zhuang, Tujia and Yi. Its geographic pattern reflects both ancient demographic expansions and later historical migrations within East Asia.
Ancient DNA
- Analyses of modern frequency distributions suggest that O-F8 expanded from a core region in northern or central China.
- The estimated age of O-F8 overlaps with intensified Neolithic agriculture and the emergence of large settlements in the Yellow River region.
- Population genetic work links O-F8 to the same Neolithic founder events that shaped the broader O-M117 "Oα" expansion.
Phylogeny & subclades
O-F8 forms the largest identifiable branch within O-M117 and includes multiple downstream lineages documented in high-resolution Chinese Y-chromosome studies. Its star-like phylogeny indicates a rapid, large-scale expansion from a small group of male founders.
- O-F8*
- O-F81
- Derivatives described in regional Chinese studies
Notes & context
Because O-F8 captures most of the O-M117 diversity in China, it is a critical clade for modeling the demographic impact of Neolithic founder events on East Asian Y-DNA.
References & external links