Genetic studies of Jews

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Genetic studies have been used to investigate the origins of diverse Jewish ethnic subgroups, and assess shared ancestry between Jewish and non-Jewish populations. The medical genetics of Jews is a subset of this research, that focuses on population-specific diseases and on genetic conditions shared with other ethnic groups. Studies on Jewish populations have been principally conducted using all three types of genealogical DNA tests: autosomal (atDNA), mitochondrial (mtDNA), and Y-chromosome (Y-DNA). Autosomal testing, which looks at the largest sets of genes within peoples' DNA, shows that Jewish populations tend to form genetic isolates – relatively closely related groups in independent communities with most in a community sharing significant ancestry. The Ashkenazi Jews form the largest such group. Mitochondrial and Y-DNA tests look at maternal and paternal ancestry respectively, via two small groups of genes transmitted only via female or male ancestors. Studies on the genetic composition...

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