Genomewide structure of populations from European Russia (Khrunin et al. 2013)

Notice:

1. The intermediate position of Estonians between Balts and Finns
2. The intermediate position of some Russian groups between Komi and the main body of Europeans.

PLoS ONE 8(3): e58552. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0058552
A Genome-Wide Analysis of Populations from European Russia Reveals a New Pole of Genetic Diversity in Northern Europe
Andrey V. Khrunin et al.
Several studies examined the fine-scale structure of human genetic variation in Europe. However, the European sets analyzed represent mainly northern, western, central, and southern Europe. Here, we report an analysis of approximately 166,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms in populations from eastern (northeastern) Europe: four Russian populations from European Russia, and three populations from the northernmost Finno-Ugric ethnicities (Veps and two contrast groups of Komi people). These were compared with several reference European samples, including Finns, Estonians, Latvians, Poles, Czechs, Germans, and Italians. The results obtained demonstrated genetic heterogeneity of populations living in the region studied. Russians from the central part of European Russia (Tver, Murom, and Kursk) exhibited similarities with populations from central–eastern Europe, and were distant from Russian sample from the northern Russia (Mezen district, Archangelsk region). Komi samples, especially Izhemski Komi, were significantly different from all other populations studied. These can be considered as a second pole of genetic diversity in northern Europe (in addition to the pole, occupied by Finns), as they had a distinct ancestry component. Russians from Mezen and the Finnic-speaking Veps were positioned between the two poles, but differed from each other in the proportions of Komi and Finnic ancestries. In general, our data provides a more complete genetic map of Europe accounting for the diversity in its most eastern (northeastern) populations.
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The Finno-Ugrian Suicide Hypothesis

The Finno-Ugrian Suicide Hypothesis

This study discovers that suicide rates in Europe are strongly correlated with geography. Countries with high suicide rates form a belt from Finland to Austria which corresponds with the genetic zone of cold adaptation and ancient Uralic language dispersion. The authors suggest that genetic risk factors in this region are responsible for high suicide rates.

Percept Mot Skills. 2003 Oct;97(2):401-6.

The Finno-Ugrian suicide hypothesis: variation in European suicide rates by latitude and longitude.
Voracek M et al.

The marked variation regarding the suicide rate in 34 European countries is well described by regressing the national suicide rate on the capital cities' latitudes and on an interaction term of squared latitude multiplied with longitude. The interaction term explains 40.8% and 29.1% of men's and women's suicide rate, respectively, and latitude explains a further significant increment of 10.9% and 10.6% variance of men's and women's suicide rate, respectively. This regression model quantifies the Finno-Ugrian suicide hypothesis of Kondrichin and of Marusic and Farmer. The European countries highest in suicide rate constitute a contiguous, J-shaped belt, spanning from Finland to Austria. This area maps onto the second principal component identified for European gene distribution, representing ancestral adaptation to cold climates and the Uralic language dispersion. Thus, population differences in genetic risk factors may account for the spatial pattern in European suicide rates.

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mtDNA and Y chromosomes of Yakuts

mtDNA and Y chromosomes of Yakuts

In agreement with a recent autosomal DNA study on the Yakuts, this ethnic group is characterized by mainly Mongoloid mtDNA haplogroups (A, B, C, D, G, and F) as well as the Uralic-Mongoloid Y-haplogroup N3.

Genetika. 2003 Jul;39(7):975-81. Related Articles, Links

[MtDNA and Y-chromosome lineages in the Yakut population]
Puzyrev VP et al.

The structure of female (mtDNA) and male (Y-chromosome haplotypes) lineages in the Yakut population was examined. To determine mtDNA haplotypes, sequencing of hypervariable segment I and typing of haplotype-specific point substitutions in the other parts of the mtDNA molecule were performed. Y haplogroups were identified through typing of biallelic polymorphisms in the nonrecombining part of the chromosome. Haplotypes within haplogroups were analyzed with seven microsatellite loci. Mitochondrial gene pool of Yakuts is mainly represented by the lineages of eastern Eurasian origin (haplogroups A, B, C, D, G, and F). In Yakuts haplogroups C and D showing the total frequency of almost 80% and consisting of 12 and 10 different haplopypes, respectively, were the most frequent and diverse. The total part of the lineages of western Eurasian origin ("Caucasoid") was about 6% (4 haplotypes, haplogroups H, J, and U). Most of Y chromosomes in the Yakut population (87%) belonged to haplogroup N3 (HG16), delineated by the T-C substitution at the Tat locus. Chromosomes of haplogroup N3 displayed the presence of 19 microsatellite haplotypes, the most frequent of which encompassed 54% chromosomes of this haplogroup. Median network of haplogroup N3 in Yakuts demonstrated distinct "starlike phylogeny". Male lineages of Yakuts were shown to be closest to those of Eastern Evenks.

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