Haplogroup K is a human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroup.

Haplogroup K is actually a part of the larger haplogroup U. It is a mostly Eurasian haplotype, and is believed to have first appeared when human populations expanded through Europe after the last glacial maximum in 16,000 BC.

Analysis of the mtDNA of Ötzi the Iceman, the frozen mummy from 3300 BC found on the Austrian-Italian border, has shown that Otzi belongs to the K1 subcluster of the mitochondrial haplogroup K, but that it cannot be categorized into any of the three modern branches of that subcluster.

Approximately 32% of the haplotypes of modern people with Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry are in haplogroup K.

In his popular book The Seven Daughters of Eve, Bryan Sykes named the originator of this mtDNA haplogroup Katrine.

See also

• Mitochondrial genetics

External links

• Spread of Haplogroup K, from National Geographic
• Katrine
• Haplogroup K

Human mtDNA haplogroups