title: Parallel evolution of genes and languages in the Caucasus region.
abstract: We analyzed 40 single nucleotide polymorphism and 19 short tandem repeat Y-chromosomal markers in a large sample of 1,525 indigenous individuals from 14 populations in the Caucasus and 254 additional individuals representing potential source populations. We also employed a lexicostatistical approach to reconstruct the history of the languages of the North Caucasian family spoken by the Caucasus populations. We found a different major haplogroup to be prevalent in each of four sets of populations that occupy distinct geographic regions and belong to different linguistic branches. The haplogroup frequencies correlated with geography and, even more strongly, with language. Within haplogroups, a number of haplotype clusters were shown to be specific to individual populations and languages. The data suggested a direct origin of Caucasus male lineages from the Near East, followed by high levels of isolation, differentiation, and genetic drift in situ. Comparison of genetic and linguistic reconstructions covering the last few millennia showed striking correspondences between the topology and dates of the respective gene and language trees and with documented historical events. Overall, in the Caucasus region, unmatched levels of gene-language coevolution occurred within geographically isolated populations, probably due to its mountainous terrain.
authors.affiliation: Research Centre for Medical Genetics, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Moscow, Russia. balanovsky@inbox.ru
authors.forename: Oleg
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Balanovsky
authors.forename: Khadizhat
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Dibirova
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dybo
authors.forename: Oleg
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Mudrak
authors.forename: Svetlana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Frolova
authors.forename: Elvira
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pocheshkhova
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Haber
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Platt
authors.forename: Theodore
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Schurr
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Haak
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kuznetsova
authors.forename: Magomed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Radzhabov
authors.forename: Olga
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Balaganskaya
authors.forename: Alexey
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Romanov
authors.forename: Tatiana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zakharova
authors.forename: David F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Soria Hernanz
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zalloua
authors.forename: Sergey
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Koshel
authors.forename: Merritt
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ruhlen
authors.forename: Colin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Renfrew
authors.forename: R Spencer
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Wells
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tyler-Smith
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Balanovska
mesh_terms: D044466:Asian People / Q000235:genetics; D041322:Chromosomes, Human, Y; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005788:Gene Pool; D005828:Genetics, Population; D006239:Haplotypes; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008037:Linguistics; D008297:Male; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats; D010802:Phylogeny; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D012426:Russia; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D044465:White People / Q000235:genetics*