Health Dictionary
Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.
Haplogroup L1 (mtDNA)
Introduction
In human genetics, Haplogroup L1 is a human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroup.
Haplogroup L1 is found in West and Central sub-Saharan Africa. Some of its branches (L1d, L1k, L1a, L1f) were recently re-classified into haplogroup L0 as L0d, L0k, L0a and L0f.
Haplogroup L1 arose with Mitochondrial Eve and haplogroup L0 is an offshoot.
The descendants of haplogroup L1 are also African haplogroups L2 and L3, the latter of which gave rise to all non-African haplogroups.
Haplogroup L1 is believed to have first appeared in Africa approximately 150,000 to 170,000 years ago.