Ancient DNA of Emperor CAO Cao's granduncle matches those of his present descendants: A commentary on present Y chromosomes reveal the ancestry of Emperor CAO Cao of 1800 years ago

摘要

In the 3rd issue, 57th volume of the Journal of Human Genetics, we reported that the Y chromosomal haplogroup of the descendants of Emperor CAO Cao (O2*-M268) is different from that of the Marquis CAO Can (03-002611). Therefore, CAO Cao's claim of aristocratic ancestry from CAO Can, which has been doubted for almost 1800 years, is not supported by genetic evidence. However, the real ancestry of Emperor CAO Cao remains mysterious. Emperor CAO's foster grandfather, CAO Teng, was a eunuch. Historical documents suggest that Emperor CAO's father should have been adopted from CAO Teng's own clan, while the Emperor's opponents alleged that Emperor CAO's father was adopted from beggardom. Here, ancient DNA extracted from a tooth excavated from Yuanbaokeng (YBK) Tomb I gives a clue to this mystery. YBK I is a tomb of CAO clan located in Bozhou (Qiao Prefecture in Han dynasty), Anhui Province. CAO Cao was born in Bozhou and started his fortune there. Most of his relatives were buried in Bozhou. YBK I was suggested to be the tomb of CAO Cao's granduncle, CAO Ding. We got one tooth of CAO Ding from the Museum of Bozhou. DNA was extracted from this tooth following the method described in our previous publication. Our ancient DNA experimental operations are strictly controlled by following all the criteria for ancient DNA studies.