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Welsh bear 'closest resemblance' to earliest settlers of Britain

The Welsh are more similar to the earliest settlers of Britain after the last ice age than any other people in the UK, according to a new study into the genetic makeup of the British Isles.

An international research team used DNA samples collected from more than 2,000 people. Credit: 100,000 Genomes Project

An international research team used DNA samples collected from more than 2,000 people to create the first fine-scale genetic map of any country in the world.

By comparing this information with DNA samples from over 6,000 Europeans, the team was also able to identify clear traces of the population movements into the UK over the past 10,000 years.

“To tease out the subtle genetic differences between UK regions we had to use sophisticated statistical methods that model how our genomes are made up of stretches of DNA, passed down the generations from our ancestors”

– Dr Garrett Hellenthal, University College London

Key findings:

  • There was not a single “Celtic” genetic group. In fact the Celtic parts of the UK (Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and Cornwall) are among the most different from each other genetically.
  • The Welsh appear more similar to the earliest settlers of Britain after the last ice age than do other people in the UK.
  • There is genetic evidence of the effect of the Landsker line – the boundary between English-speaking people in south-west Pembrokeshire (sometimes known as “Little England beyond Wales”) and the Welsh speakers in the rest of Wales.

“These researchers have been able to use modern genetic techniques to provide answers to the centuries’ old question - where we come from. Beyond the fascinating insights into our history, this information could prove very useful from a health perspective, as building a picture of population genetics at this scale may in future help us to design better genetic studies to investigate disease.”

– Dr Michael Dunn, Head of Genetics & Molecular Sciences at the Wellcome Trust