On Jordan type bounds for finite groups of diffeomorphisms of 3-manifolds and Euclidean spaces

By a classical result of Jordan, each finite subgroup G of a complex linear group GL_n(C) has an abelian subgroup whose index in G is bounded by a constant depending only on n. We consider the problem if this remains true for finite subgroups G of the diffeomorphism group of a smooth manifold, and show that it is true for all compact 3-manifolds as well as for Euclidean spaces of dimension n < 7. The question remains open at present e.g. for odd-dimensional spheres of dimension greater or equal to five, and for Euclidean spaces of dimension greater or equal to seven.