Haplogroup P also known as P-PF5850 or K2b2 is a Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup in human genetics, it forms a clade within Haplogroup K2b (K-P331). Its sister clade within K2b is K2b1 (haplogroup MS).

While the unique SNP PF5850 is unambiguously downstream of the defining SNPs of haplogroup K2b and upstream of formerly defining SNPs (such as P295), this change is not yet reflected in all guides to Y-DNA phylogeny, such as those by International Society of Genetic Genealogy, nor in scientific publications.

Basal P-PF5850* is found in Southeast Asia. Near-basal P-P295* is found among South and Southeast Asians, as well as Oceanians. P1~* (P-M1254*) has been found only in one Andamanese male, P-FT292000 (P1b, formerly P3) has an unknown distribution, and P1c* (P-M45*) is commonly found among Siberians and Central Asians. P-M45 is the parent node of Haplogroup Q (Q-M242) and Haplogroup R (R-M207).

The major subclades of Haplogroups P-M45, Q and R now include most males among Europeans, Native Americans, South Asians and Central Asians.

Origin and dispersal

Karafet et al. (2015) suggests an origin and dispersal of haplogroup P and its ancestral clade K from either South Asia or Southeast Asia as part of the early human dispersal, based on the distribution of subclades of P-P295 and more ancient clades such as K1 and K2. However, Karafet et al. (2015) mentions that this hypothesis is "parsimonious" and K may have alternatively originated elsewhere in Eurasia and later went extinct there.This pattern leads us to hypothesize a southeastern Asian origin for P-P295 and a later expansion of the ancestor of subhaplogroups R and Q into mainland Asia. An alternative explanation would involve an extinction event of ancestral P-P295* chromosomes everywhere in Asia. These scenarios are equally parsimonious. They involve either a migration event (P* chromosomes from Indonesia to mainland Asia) or an extinction event of P-P295* paragroup in Eurasia. According to a geneticist Spencer Wells, haplogroup K, from which haplogroup P descended, originated most likely in the Middle East or Central Asia. "Given the widespread distribution of K, it probably arose somewhere in the Middle East or Central Asia, perhaps in the region of Iran or Pakistan." According to Bergstorm et al. (2016), haplogroup K2b1, the ancestor of haplogroups M and S found in Indigenous Australians, and haplogroup P (K2b2), the ancestor of haplogroups R and Q, split in Southeast Asia near Sahul. "Applying a point mutation rate of 0.76 × 10−9 per site per year inferred from the number of missing mutations on the Y chromosome of a ~45-ky-old radiocarbon-dated Eurasian sample , we infer a divergence time of 54.3 ky (95% confidence interval [CI]: 48.0–61.6 ky) between K∗/M chromosomes in Sahul and their closest relatives in the R and Q haplogroups (Figure 1B)" - (Figure 1B): "The phylogeny of Y chromosomes in haplogroups K∗ and M. This detailed view of a part of the larger tree displayed in (A) focuses on chromosomes in haplogroups K∗ and M. Haplogroups Q and R, which are the closest relatives to K∗ and M in the phylogeny, are represented schematically because they contain very large numbers of samples. Aboriginal Australian and Papuan samples are colored in two different shades of red for easier visual separation."

The highest frequency and diversity of haplogroup P clades is observed in Southeast Asia, specifically on the Malay Peninsula and the Philippines. To date, the ancestral clade K2b has only been confirmed among the 39,000 year old Tianyuan man.

Structure

The subclades of Haplogroup P with their defining mutation(s):

K2b P (PF5850) P~ (P295/PF5866/S8, PF5870/F115/M1189/V1651) P1~ (M1254...) P1c~ (M45/PF5962, P226/PF5879, ...) Q (M242, F4052/M1063/V1090, ...) R (P224, P227, P229, P232, P280, P285, L248.3/M705.3, ...) P2 (F20148, ...) P2a~ (B253/Z33760/Z33761/Z33762/Z33763) P2b (F24883) P2b1 (BY49600/Y145258, ...)

Distribution (Note: the tilde (~) suffix indicates that subclade names are approximate and may subsequently be redefined.)

P* (P-PF5850) P-PF5850* has been found among a sample of Jehai (or Jahai) males in Malaysia.

The near-basal subclade P-M295* (P~*; formerly P*) has been found among at least three living individuals from the Philippines.

P(xP1~) This paraphyletic group notionally comprises all subclades of P-P295 (or K2b2) except for the main subclades P1 (PF5962) and P1c (M45), thus also excluding the two major haplogroups Q and R (as subclades of P1c). The tilde (~) suffix indicates that the redefinition of P-M45 from P1 to P1c is relatively recent, as is the discovery of P2 (P-F20148). Thus, it is not always clear if older studies include P1a, P1b or P2 (none of which are defined by the SNP M45). Therefore, some cases reported as P* in older literature may include all subclades of P other than P1 (M45).

P(xP1~) exists at low to moderate levels among various groups in Island South East Asia, the South West Pacific and East Asia.

P(xP1~) is found at its highest rate among members of the Aeta (or Agta), a people indigenous to Luzon who formed from various ancient groups, such as Oceanians and Austronesian peoples from Taiwan. P1*(xQ,R) is most common among individuals in Siberia and Central Asia, as well as in South Asia at a lower frequency.

+ P(xP1~) frequency in surveyed groups in Island South East Asia, South West Pacific, and East Asia Population P* % Notes Papua New Guinea 0.69 Assumed from Kayser et al. (2006), i.e. one P* found New Zealand 0 Fiji 0 Solomon Islands 0 French Polynesia 0 Vanuatu 0 New Caledonia Guam 0 Samoa 0 Kiribati Tonga 0 Federated States of Micronesia 0 Marshall Islands 0 American Samoa Northern Mariana Islands Palau Cook Islands 0 Wallis and Futuna 0 Tuvalu 0 Nauru Norfolk Island Niue 0 Small sample size Tokelau 0 Small sample size Hawaii 0 Small sample size, from FTDNA Australia 0 Timor 10.8 Aeta (Philippines) 28 Austronesians (Philippines) 0 Malaysia 0 Flores 0 Sulawesi 0.6 East Indonesia 0 Java Indonesia 0 Bali Indonesia 0 Sumatra Indonesia 0 Borneo Indonesia 0 West Papua Province 0 Papua Province 0 Sumba Indonesia 3.2

P1

P1~* (P-M1254) P1~*, also known as P-M1254, is known only from the remains of an Andamanese male who lived during the 19th century. See Supplementary Materials, Table S9 YFull (2026) YTree P (Accessed: 25 May 2026). While P1 was previously defined by the SNP M45, the discovery of individuals lacking M45, as well as the defining SNPs for haplogroup P2, has led to the M45 being attached to haplogroup P1c (see below).

P1c~ (P-P337) Two long-deceased individuals from Siberia are known to have had P-P337 (P1c~*). One is the remains of an Upper Paleolithic individual from northeast Siberia, known as Yana 1, and the other is the Bronze Age remains known as I6950, from the Okunev culture of southern Siberia. Previously known as P1, this clade is often defined by the SNP M45, however, the YFull phylogeny tree has since excluded M45 because it has been found under at least one haplogroup outside haplogroup P.

P1c (P-M45) P1c (P-M45; previously known as P1) has been found among the Ancient North Eurasian Yana individuals, who carried around 29–51% ancestry from an East Eurasian source related to the Tianyuan man (although those particular remains belong to K2b*).

Many modern ethnic groups with high frequencies of P1~, also known as P-M45 and K2b2a, are located in Central Asia and Siberia: 35.4% among Tuvans, 28.3% among Altai-Kizhi (PxQ-M3,R1), and 35% among Nivkh males.

+ P-M45 (P1~) frequency in surveyed groups of Central Asia and Siberia Modern population Modern ethnolinguistic affiliation Reference n Percentage Notes / SNPs tested Tuvinian Turkic 113 35.40 P-M45 Nivkh Isolate 17 35 P-M45 Altai-Kizhi Turkic 92 28.3 P-M45 Todjin Turkic 36 22.2 P-M45 Chukchi Chukotkan 24 20.8 P-M45 Koryak Chukotkan 27 18.5 P-M45 Yupik Eskimo-Aleut 33 18.2 P-M45 Uighur Turkic 70 17.1 P-M45 Kalmyk Mongolic 68 11.8 P-M45 Turkmen Turkic 30 10 P-M45 Soyot Turkic 34 8.8 P-M45 Uriankhai Mongolic 60 8.3 P-M45 Khakas Turkic 53 7.6 P-M45 Kazakh Turkic 54 5.6 P-M45 Uzbek Turkic 366 5.5 P-M45 Khasi-Khmuic Austro-Asiatic 353 5.40 P-M45(xM173) § Munda Austro-Asiatic 64 10.90 P-M45(xM173) § Nicobarese Austro-Asiatic 11 0.00 P-M45(xM173) § Southeast Asia Austro-Asiatic 257 1.60 P-M45(xM173) § Garo Tibeto-Burman 71 1.40 P-M45(xM173) § India Tibeto-Burman 226 3.10 P-M45(xM173) § East Asia Tibeto-Burman 214 0.00 P-M45(xM173) §Eastern India Unclear / Various 54 18.50 P-M45(xM173) § Southern Talysh, Iran Iranian 50 4.00 P-M45(xM124, xM173) Northern Talysh, Azerbaijan Iranian 40 5.00 P-M45(xM124, xM173) Mazandarani Iranian 50 4.00 P-M45(xM124, xM173) Gilaki Iranian 50 0.00 P-M45(xM124, xM173) Tehran Iranian 80 4.00 P-M45(xM124, xM173) Isfahan Iranian 50 6.00 P-M45(xM124, xM173) Bakhtiari Iranian 53 2.00 P-M45(xM124, xM173) Iranian Arabs Arabic 47 2.00 P-M45(xM124, xM173) North Iran Iranian 33 9.00 P-M45(xM124, xM173) South Iran Iranian 117 3.00 P-M45(xM124, xM173) South Caucacus Georgian 77 3.00 P-M45(xM124, xM173) South Caucacus Armenian 100 2.00 P-M45(xM124, xM173) Hvar Croatian 14 Korčula Croatian 6 § May include members of haplogroup R2.

+ Modern South Asian populations featuring P1~ (M45) Population group N P (xQ, xR) Q R Count % Count % Count % Gope 16 1 6.4 Oriya Brahmin 24 1 4.2 Mahishya 17 3 17.6 Bhumij 15 2 13.3 Saora 13 3 23.1 Nepali 7 2 28.6 Muslims of Manipur 9 3 33.3 Himachal Pradesh Rajput 15 1 6.7 Lambadi 18 4 22.2 Gujarati Patel 9 2 22.2 Katkari 19 1 5.3 Madia Gond 14 1 7.1 Kamma Chowdary 15 0 0 1 6.7 12 80

Q

Near universal in the Kets (93.8%) of Siberia. Very common in pre-modern Native American populations and Selkups, where it reaches 50–92%. In Na-Dene peoples it reaches 92.3% in Navajo. It is present in 80% of the Inuit.Zegura Stephen L., Tatiana M. Karafet, Lev A. Zhivotovsky, Michael F. Hammer. High-Resolution SNPs and Microsatellite Haplotypes Point to a Single, Recent Entry of Native American Y Chromosomes into the Americas, 2004. Also common, at 25–50% in Siberian populations such as the Siberian Tatars,https://vestnik.rsmu.press/files/issues/vestnik.rsmu.press/2024/5/2024-5-1549_en.pdf GENETIC PORTRAITS OF KHANTY AND MANSI BASED ON THE Y CHROMOSOME HAPLOGROUPS IN THE CONTEXT OF GENE POOLS OF RUSSIA Nivkh, Tuvans, Chukchi, Siberian Eskimos, Northern Altaians, Tsaatan, and in 73% of Turkmens from Karakalpakstan.

R The only discovered case of basal R* (i.e. one that does not belong to R1 or R2) is the Mal'ta boy from the Upper Paleolithic, found in the upper Angara River in the area west of Lake Baikal in the Irkutsk Oblast, Siberia, Russian Federation.

R1