The gene pool of the Belgorod region population: I. Differentiation of all district populations based on anthroponymic data

The gene pool of the entire population of all the 21 raions (districts) of the Belgorod oblast (region) has been studied using anthroponymic data. Considerable geographic variations of the number of surnames and the degree of population subdivision (0.00003 < f(r)* < 0.00125) in the 21 districts have been demonstrated. Districts with low population subdivision levels are mainly located in the central and southwestern raions of the Belgorod oblast, contain an urbanized area (city), and border on Ukraine (they are characterized by a considerable Ukrainian immigration). Urbanization significantly affects the population structure of the Belgorod oblast. In urbanized districts, rural populations lack the relationships between the population size, number of surnames, and population subdivision level (f(r)).     

The gene pool of the Belgorod oblast population: changes in the endogamy indices of district populations with time

Changes in the endogamy indices of district populations of the Central Chernozem region of Russia during the past 100 years were studied. The size of an elementary population in this region increased from that of a rural municipality in the mid-20th century to that of an administrative district in the late 20th century.     

The gene pool of Belgorod oblast population: the distribution of immunological and biochemical gene markers

The frequencies of 33 alleles of 12 loci of immunological and biochemical gene markers (ABO, RH, HP, GC, TF, PI, C'3, ACP1, GLO1, PGM1, ESD, and 6-PGD) have been estimated in the indigenous Russian and Ukrainian populations of Belgorod oblast. Differences of the Belgorod population from other populations of Russia with respect to the genetic structure have been determined. It has been found that the frequency distributions of all alleles studied in the Belgorod population are similar to those typical of the genetic structure of Caucasoid populations.     

The gene pool of Belgorod oblast population: Study of biochemical gene markers in populations of Ukraine and Belarus and the position of the Belgorod population in the Eastern Slavic gene pool system

The characteristics of the gene pools of indigenous populations of Ukraine and Belarus have been studied using 28 alleles of 10 loci of biochemical gene markers (HP, GC, TF, PI, C′3, ACP1, GLO1, PGM1, ESD, and 6-PGD). The gene pools of the Russian and Ukrainian indigenous populations of Belgorod oblast (Russia) and the indigenous populations of Ukraine and Belarus have been compared. Cluster analysis, multidimensional scaling, and factor analysis of the obtained data have been used to determine the position of the Belgorod population gene pool in the Eastern Slavic gene pool system.     

The gene pool of Belgorod oblast population: study of biochemical gene markers in populations of Ukraine and Belarus and the position of the Belgorod population in the Eastern Slavic gene pool system

The characteristics of the gene pools of indigenous populations of Ukraine and Belarus have been studied using 28 alleles of 10 loci of biochemical gene markers (HP, GC, TF, PI, C'3, ACP1, GLO1, PGM1, ESD, and 6-PGD). The gene pools of the Russian and Ukrainian indigenous populations of Belgorod oblast (Russia) and the indigenous populations of Ukraine and Belarus have been compared. Cluster analysis, multidimensional scaling, and factor analysis of the obtained data have been used to determine the position of the Belgorod population gene pool in the Eastern Slavic gene pool system.     

The gene pool of Belgorod oblast population: The distribution of immunological and biochemical gene markers

The frequencies of 33 alleles of 12 loci of immunological and biochemical gene markers (AB0, RH, HP, GC, TF, PI, C′3, ACP1, GLO1, PGM1, ESD, and 6-PGD) have been estimated in the indigenous Russian and Ukrainian populations of Belgorod oblast. Differences of the Belgorod population from other populations of Russia with respect to the genetic structure have been determined. It has been found that the frequency distributions of all alleles studied in the Belgorod population are similar to those typical of the genetic structure of Caucasoid populations.     

The gene pool of the Belgorod oblast population: Changes in population genetic relationships during the past 50 years

The model of the Belgorod oblast population has been used to demonstrate different effects of administrative reforms on microevolution in human populations. For the populations that formerly belonged to Kursk oblast, changes in the regional administrative structure (after which some of them remained in Kursk oblast and others were included into Belgorod oblast) have lead to an increase in the genetic distances between them. However, other populations (formerly belonging to Voronezh oblast) have become genetically closer to one another, although these populations now belong to different administrative regions (Belgorod and Voronezh oblasts).     

The gene pool of the belgorod oblast population: Changes in the endogamy indices of district populations with time

Changes in the endogamy indices of district populations of the Central Chernozem region of Russia during the past 100 years were studied. The size of an elementary population in this region increased from that of a rural municipality in the mid-20th century to that of an administrative district in the late 20th century.     

The gene pool of the Belgorod oblast population: II. "Family name portraits" in groups of districts with different degrees of subdivision and the role of migrations in their formation

The frequencies and spectra of surnames have been analyzed in groups of raions (districts) of the Belgorod oblast (region) with different degrees of population subdivision. The "family name portraits" of districts with low (0.00003 less sign f* < 0.00022, f*(r) = 0.00015) and moderate (0.00023 < f*(r) < 0.00042, f*(r) = 0.00029) inbreeding levels are similar both to each other and to the "family name portrait" of the Belgorod oblast as a whole. Districts with high subdivision levels (0.00043 < f*(r) < 0.00125, f*(r) = 0.00072) had very distinctive surname spectra and the highest surname frequencies. Intense immigration to the Belgorod oblast significantly affects its population genetic structure, decreasing the population subdivision.     

Genogeographic analysis of subdivided population. The Adyge gene pool in the Caucasian gene pool system]

A gene geographic analysis of the indigenous population of the Caucasian historical cultural province was carried out with a set of genetic markers extensively studied in the Adyges (39 alleles of 18 loci): AB0, ACP, C3, FY, GC, GLO, HP, KEL, LEW, MN, MNS, P, PGD, PGM1, RH-C, RH-D, RH-E, and TF. Genetic information on 160 Caucasian populations was used (on average, 65 populations per locus). A synthetic map of the first principal component clearly showed a division into two gene geographic provinces: Northern Caucasus and Transcaucasia. The component significantly differed across the Greater Caucasian Ridge. One of the major regions of extreme values corresponded to the Adyge region. A map of the second component revealed two poles, Northwestern (the Adyges) and Caspian, in gene pool variation of the Caucasian population. The analysis of the maps and the space of principal components showed that the Adyge population is an important component of the Caucasian gene pool. A map of genetic distance from all Caucasian populations to the Adyges showed that the north Caucasian populations (excluding the Ossetes) are the most genetically similar to the Adyges, while Georgians from the Kolkhida Valley and Azerbaijanians from the lowlands near the Caspian Sea and highland steppes are the most genetically remote from the Adyges. The genetic diversity (GST x 10(2)) of the entire Caucasian gene pool was studied. The average diversity of subpopulation within a Caucasian ethnos was GS-E = 0.81, the diversity of ethnoses within a linguistic family was GE-L = 0.83, and the diversity of linguistic families was GL-T = 0.58. The race classification of the Caucasian populations (GS-E = 0.81, GS-R = 0.80, GR-T = 0.76) proved to be more genetically informative than the linguistic one. The major parameters of the Adyges (total diversity HT = 0.364, heterozygosity HS = 0.361, and subpopulation diversity within the ethnos GS-E = 0.69) were similar to those averaged over the entire Caucasian population. A comparison with the same set of genetic markers showed that the interethnic diversity in the Caucasian region was lower than in the other north Eurasian regions (GS-E was 1.24 in the European region, 1.42 in the Ural region, 1.27 in Middle Asia, and 3.85 in Siberia).     

Niger-Congo speaking populations and the formation of the Brazilian gene pool: mtDNA and Y-chromosome data

We analyzed sequence variation in the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) hypervariable segment I (HVS-I) from 201 Black individuals from two Brazilian cities (Rio de Janeiro and Porto Alegre), and compared these data with published information from 21 African populations. A subset of 187 males of the sample was also characterized for 30 Y-chromosome biallelic polymorphisms, and the data were compared with those from 48 African populations. The mtDNA data indicated that respectively 69% and 82% of the matrilineages found in Rio de Janeiro and Porto Alegre originated from West-Central/Southeast Africa. These estimates are in close agreement with historical records which indicated that most of the Brazilian slaves who arrived in Rio de Janeiro were from West-Central Africa. In contrast to mtDNA, Y-chromosome haplogroup analysis did not allow discrimination between places of origin in West or West-Central Africa. Thus, when comparing these two major African regions, there seems to be higher genetic structure with mtDNA than with Y-chromosome data.     

The population gene pool of Yakutia: cartographic analysis based on the polymorphism of immune and biochemical markers

The gene pool of the indigenous population of Sakha Republic (Yakutia) has been studied within the borders of this republic coinciding with the main area of Yakuts, which was formed by the end of the 19th century and have remained stable until the present time. Maps of the geographic variation of the integrated characteristics of the Yakut gene pool, including the principal components, parameters of genetic diversity, and genetic distances from the "average" Yakut population are presented. It has been demonstrated that ethnographers' reports on intense internal assimilation in modem Yakutia agree with genetic data. The stratification of the Yakut gene pool reflected in the maps of two principal components corresponds to the observed general (H(T)) and interpopulation (FST) gene diversities.     

Analysis of population genetic structure of ten district populations of the Rostov oblast by means of an extended isonymic method of Barrai and colleagues

Parameters suggested by Barrai et al. (1992), including the random isonymy (I _r), surname diversity (α), migration index (v), and entropy (H) and redundancy (R) of surname distribution have been estimated in ten district populations of the Rostov oblast. Their weighted mean values are the following: I _r = 0.000813, v = 0.048, α = 1334.9, H = 11.30, R = 22.52.     

Analysis of population genetic structure of ten district populations of the Rostov oblast by means of an extended isonymic method of Barrai and colleagues

Parameters suggested by Barrai et al. (1992), including the random isonymy (I(r)), surname diversity (alpha), migration index (nu), and entropy (H) and redundancy (R) of surname distribution have been estimated in ten district populations of the Rostov oblast. Their weighted mean values are the following: I(r) = 0.000813, nu = 0.048, alpha = 1334.9, H = 11.30, R = 22.52.     

The marriage migration characteristics of the Rostov oblast population

Marriage records have been used to study the marriage migration structure of five raions of the Rostov oblast. The mean ethnic marriage assortativeness in the Russian and Ukrainian rural populations are 1.16 and 1.6, respectively. The endogamy index of the urban population varies from 0.19 to 0.34; and that of the rural population, from 0.21 to 0.54. Malecot's isolation by distance parameters have been calculated. Genetic landscapes have been constructed.     

The dagestan gene pool: The genetic structure of the nine largest ethnic groups: Analysis based on data on the AB0 and Rhesus blood groups

Detailed analysis of the population structure of Dagestan ethnic groups based on data on the AB0 and Rhesus blood groups has been carried out. A total of 32101 representatives of the nine largest ethnic groups of Dagestan (from 682 auls in 46 raions) have been examined. This allows a comprehensive genetic landscape of the Dagestan population to be drawn. Comparison of the ethnic groups studied with other Caucasian ethnic groups makes it possible to determine the position of the Dagestan gene pool in the total structure of the Caucasian gene pool.     

New data on coat color gene frequencies in cats: 1. The Armavir population

The population of domestic cats from the city of Armavir has been examined. A high frequency of gene O was revealed in the population. Differences among three subpopulations estimated using two genetic distances showed heterogeneity of the Armavir cat population. The extreme samples showed highly significant differences (P < 0.01; χ _[6] ² = 24.67), likely explained by the structural features of the synantropous population and human-driven frequency-dependent selection operating in it. The feline population of Armavir underwent significant changes during the past two decades. The d _ij coefficient in it was 0.093; D _p = 0.05. The frequencies of genes Orange and Long-hair have increased in the general population. The frequency of gene dilution has decreased. These changes may have occurred because of genetic exchange with purebred domestic cats that have become more popular as pets in the recent years.     

Gene pool and gene geography of the USSR population]

Gene pool and gene geography are discussed from the point of view of their conceptual history beginning from the original concept of A.S. Serebrovski? (1928). Difference between the present-day gene geography and gene geography of gene pool is accentuated: the former only represents a portion of the latter. Historical and territorial integrity of the USSR population gene pool, in conjunction with its huge diversity, is the main problem being analysed by various means of computerized genetic cartography. Coupled with the gene frequency mapping, following methods were also used: mapping of average heterozygosity, of interpopulation differentiation, of principal component scores and mapping of geographical trend for each mapped genetic parameter. The work is based on 100 allelic genes and haplotypes from 30 independent loci studied on the average in 225 local populations. Statistical analysis of gene geographical maps is based on 3975 nodes of regular cartographic net for the USSR territory. The wind rose of systematic changes in the USSR gene pool has three main geographic orientations: W-E, SW-NE and S-N. At the same time, there are only two main systematic forces of gene pool evolution: the force of social history with predominant W-E orientation and the force of natural history with predominant S-N orientation of their actions. The heterozygosity level of gene pool declines strictly in accordance with the resultant in the SW-NE direction.