Boundaries and clines in the West Eurasian Y-chromosome landscape: insights from the European part of Russia.
Previous studies of Y chromosome variation have revealed that western Europe, the Volga-Ural region, and the Caucasus differ dramatically with respect to Y-SNP haplogroup composition. The European part of Russia is situated in between these three regions; to determine if these differences reflect clines or boundaries in the Y-chromosome landscape, we analyzed 12 Y-SNPs in 545 males from 12 populations from the European part of Russia. The majority of Russian Y chromosomes (from 74% to 94%) belong to three Y chromosomal lineages [I-M170, R1a1-M17, and N3-TAT] that are also frequent in the rest of east Europe, north Europe, and/or in the Volga-Ural region. We find significant but low correlations between haplogroup frequencies and the geographic location of populations, suggesting gradual change in the Y chromosome gene pool across western Eurasia. However, we also find some significant boundaries between populations, suggesting that both isolation and migration have influenced the Y chromosome landscape.
Fechner
Angela
A
Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany.
Quinque
Dominique
D
Rychkov
Sergey
S
Morozowa
Irina
I
Naumova
Oksana
O
Schneider
Yuriy
Y
Willuweit
Sascha
S
Zhukova
Olga
O
Roewer
Lutz
L
Stoneking
Mark
M
Nasidze
Ivan
I
D041322:Chromosomes, Human, Y / Q000235:genetics*; D018740:Genetic Heterogeneity; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005828:Genetics, Population; D006239:Haplotypes; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D012426:Russia; D044465:White People / Q000235:genetics*