Allan Wilson showed that the mtDNA of Africans is more diverse than that of other human populations. Does this finding provide evidence for the multiregional (MRE) model or the recent African origin (RAO) model?
The correct answer is "recent African origin (RAO) model". Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is maternally inherited. Phylogenetic analysis of mtDNA using worldwide individuals places African population to be at the oldest branch of the phylogenetic tree. This supports RAO hypothesis that modern humans appear in Africa and then spread worldwide. It does not support MRE model because evolutionary innovations that took place in one region did not spread to other regions.
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