Study of Britain produces first fine-scale genetic map of a nation

Britain may be famous for preserving its royal DNA, but a genetic analysis of the nation is providing new insights into the "story of the masses," according to scientists.

Researchers announced Wednesday that they had created the world's first fine-scale genetic map of any country, an achievement that allowed them to settle a few long-running debates about the history and bloodlines of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The group's most surprising finding was its failure to identify a single "Celtic" genetic group. In fact, the researchers said that the Celtic regions of Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and Cornwall were among the most genetically different.

Likewise, they found no clear genetic evidence of the Danish Viking occupation and control of a large part of England during the 9th century, suggesting a "relatively limited input of DNA."

The research, which was published Wednesday in the journal Nature, was conducted by an international team and led by scientists from the University of Oxford, University College London and the Murdoch Children's Research Institute in Australia.

ThePeople of the British Isles study was based on sophisticated statistical analysis of DNA samples from 2,030 rural British residents. Each of the whiteDNA donors had all four of their grandparents born within 48 miles of one another, essentially allowingresearchers to sample the DNA of the grandparents in specific regions.

The DNA samples were studied for differences at roughly half a million positions along the genome, and were then grouped by similarity. Researchers plotted each DNA donor on a map, positioning the donorsat the geographic midpoint of their grandparents' birthplaces.

"What was striking was the pattern of variation we saw and the way it aligned with geography," said coauthor Peter Donnelly, director of the Wellcome Trust Center for Human Genetics at the University of Oxford.

Subtle yet identifiable genetic patterns could be found separated by current-day county lines, Donnelly said. Such was the case with Cornwall and Devon, in England's southwest.

In order to provide context, researchers alsoanalyzed DNA samples from 6,209 volunteers from 10 other European nations. That data allowed researchers to determine the genetic contributions of people from other parts of Europe.

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Study of Britain produces first fine-scale genetic map of a nation