Here is a map showing the allele frequency of HLA-DR16. The maximum frequencies are observed in the United Emirates (18%), Bulgaria (17.5%), Macedonia (15.5%), Greece (13.5%), Albania (12.5%), Serbia (11%), Croatia (10.5%) and Sardinia (10.5%).
It is completely absent from the Saami, Breton, Basque and Pasiegos populations, three population isolates with high Mesolithic European ancestry. DR16 is also nearly absent (less than 1%) from Finland, Scandinavia, Ireland, Wales and (supposedly) Highland Scotland, but also from Morocco. All these ethnic groups and regions have in common a high percentage of mtDNA haplogroup U5, associated with Mesolithic Europeans.
Overall, the distribution is fairly similar to that of Y-haplogroup E-V13. It is likely that the HLA-DR16 gene was found among E-V13 people in Southeast Europe during the Mesolithic period and was spread around Europe by Neolithic farmers after they mixed with E-V13 people. Neolithic farmers would thus have brought DR16 to places like Sardinia, but not to the Atlantic and Baltic fringes of Europe. Unsurprisingly, E-V13 is also completely absent from the Saami, Breton, Basque and Pasiegos populations.
Medical associations
HLA-DR16 is associated with Chaga's cardiomyopathy, rheumatic heart disease, coronary artery ectasia, and chronic discoid lupus erythematosus.
DRB1*1601 is associated with tuberculosis risk.
DRB1*1602: Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, rheumatic heart disease, Takayasu arteritis, systemic sclerosis (SSc) & anti-DNA topoisomerase I (anti-topo I) antibody, melioidosis (Burkholderia pseudomallei) infection.
SNP's
You can verify if you carry HLA-DR16 by checking your raw data from 23andMe, Geno 2.0 or FamilyFinder, although I am not sure which allele is positive or negative. There are two subclades (16:01 and 16:02) but 99% of Europeans belong to 16:01.
- DRB1*16:01 : rs3129891 (A = DR16+) or rs6923504 (G = DR16+).
You normally need to be positive for both alleles.
Link to prehistoric populations
I have checked these SNP's in over 20 Mesolithic to Bronze Age genomes from Haak et al. 2015 and other papers.
Rs3129891 was positive in:
- Mesolithic Samara (homozygous AA)
- Mesolithic Karelia
- one Neolithic LBK sample (homozygous AA)
- one Neolithic sample from Spain
- one Yamna sample (I0231)
Rs6923504 was positive in:
- LBK Stuttgart
- Neolithic Halberstadt (I0099) (homozygous GG)
- one Yamna sample (I0231)
- one Corded Ware sample (I0104)
Apparently only the Yamna sample carried both mutations and was DR16.
It is completely absent from the Saami, Breton, Basque and Pasiegos populations, three population isolates with high Mesolithic European ancestry. DR16 is also nearly absent (less than 1%) from Finland, Scandinavia, Ireland, Wales and (supposedly) Highland Scotland, but also from Morocco. All these ethnic groups and regions have in common a high percentage of mtDNA haplogroup U5, associated with Mesolithic Europeans.
Overall, the distribution is fairly similar to that of Y-haplogroup E-V13. It is likely that the HLA-DR16 gene was found among E-V13 people in Southeast Europe during the Mesolithic period and was spread around Europe by Neolithic farmers after they mixed with E-V13 people. Neolithic farmers would thus have brought DR16 to places like Sardinia, but not to the Atlantic and Baltic fringes of Europe. Unsurprisingly, E-V13 is also completely absent from the Saami, Breton, Basque and Pasiegos populations.
Medical associations
HLA-DR16 is associated with Chaga's cardiomyopathy, rheumatic heart disease, coronary artery ectasia, and chronic discoid lupus erythematosus.
DRB1*1601 is associated with tuberculosis risk.
DRB1*1602: Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, rheumatic heart disease, Takayasu arteritis, systemic sclerosis (SSc) & anti-DNA topoisomerase I (anti-topo I) antibody, melioidosis (Burkholderia pseudomallei) infection.
SNP's
You can verify if you carry HLA-DR16 by checking your raw data from 23andMe, Geno 2.0 or FamilyFinder, although I am not sure which allele is positive or negative. There are two subclades (16:01 and 16:02) but 99% of Europeans belong to 16:01.
- DRB1*16:01 : rs3129891 (A = DR16+) or rs6923504 (G = DR16+).
You normally need to be positive for both alleles.
Link to prehistoric populations
I have checked these SNP's in over 20 Mesolithic to Bronze Age genomes from Haak et al. 2015 and other papers.
Rs3129891 was positive in:
- Mesolithic Samara (homozygous AA)
- Mesolithic Karelia
- one Neolithic LBK sample (homozygous AA)
- one Neolithic sample from Spain
- one Yamna sample (I0231)
Rs6923504 was positive in:
- LBK Stuttgart
- Neolithic Halberstadt (I0099) (homozygous GG)
- one Yamna sample (I0231)
- one Corded Ware sample (I0104)
Apparently only the Yamna sample carried both mutations and was DR16.
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