ABSTRACT
Objective: We report the results of Y-chromosomal profile and mtDNA (mitochondrial DNA) of the Chevalier Bayard (1476?-1524). Methods: His genomic DNA was extracted from a tooth of his mandible. His Y-STRs profile was obtained using the AmFirst identifier PCR amplification kit. The mtDNA genomic sequence intervals for HVR1 and HVR2 were amplified by PCR, with specific primers. Results: We obtained the complete STR (Short Tandem Repeats) profile, based on fourteen STRs (DYS19, DYS385.a, DYS389.I and .b, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, DYS393, DYS438, DYS439, DYS448, DYS456 and DYS458 and Y-GATA-H4). The deduced Y-STRs profile corresponds to the sub-clade S21 of the major European haplogroup R1b-M269 (the “Germanic” haplotype). There are six mutations (16093C, 16211T and 16519C in the HVR1 sequence, 263G, 309.1C and 315.1C in the HVR2 sequence) in the mtDNA of Bayard. The 263G mutation determines the H mtDNA haplogroup and the 16211T suggests the H5 sub-clade of the H haplogroup (a sub-clade found at >8% frequency in France, at the periphery of the Alpine arch region). This sub-clade H5 (subsequently assimilated to the H10e haplotype) is that (with a perfect match) of a modern living male related (to 32 generations) to the Bayard maternal ascendance. The Bayard mtDNA haplotype was found once only in a database of 100 South-German mtDNA control sequences. Conclusions: The resulting R1b-M269 Y haplogroup established confirms the Germanic origin of the Bayard ancestors, suggested by genealogic studies concerning his paternal ascendance. The result concerning the mtDNA H10e haplotype found in the modern living male related to Bayard by matrilinear ascendance establishes that the DNA tooth is well of him, with a 99% of chance.