Most British men carry farmer gene

Around 10,000 years ago farmers moved eastwards across Europe from the Fertile Cresent, in today’s Iraq, and it is thought they dominated native hunter gatherers as they went.

As the farmers moved towards Ireland they took land and local wives and researchers can now reveal around 60 per cent of British men, and nearly all Irish, are genetically linked to those farmers.

The PloS Biology study, led by Patricia Balaresque, a geneticist from the University of Leicester, looked at men’s ‘Y’ chromosomes for a specific gene carried by the ancient farmers.

She said the gene was transferred as early farmers would have intermarried with hunter gatherer women as they migrated.

“Maybe back then, it was just sexier to be a farmer,” said Ms Balaresque.

The agricultural Y chromosome becomes more common in the west of England and reaches a national peak of 78 per cent in Cornwall, the study found.

Jamie Gordon, a city stockbroker, said: “Even though I work in the city I have always had a tendency to get dirty. I am a keen gardener and, though the wife is not so sure, I would like to buy a pig. Maybe that is my farmer gene expressing itself”.

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