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Human Y-Chromosome Short Tandem Repeats: A Tale of Acculturation and Migrations as Mechanisms for the Diffusion of Agriculture in the Balkan Peninsula
Mirabal et al.
ABSTRACT Southeastern Europe and, particularly, the Balkan Peninsula are especially useful when studying the mechanisms responsible for generating the current distribution of Paleolithic and Neolithic genetic signals observed throughout Europe. In this study, 404 individuals from Montenegro and 179 individuals from Serbia were typed for 17 Y-STR loci and compared across 9 Y-STR loci to geographically targeted previously published collections to ascertain the phylogenetic relationships of populations within the Balkan Peninsula and beyond. We aim to provide information on whether groups in the region represent an amalgamation of Paleolithic and Neolithic genetic substrata, or whether acculturation has played a critical role in the spread of agriculture. We have found genetic markers of Middle Eastern, south Asian and European descent in the area, however, admixture analyses indicate that over 80% of the Balkan gene pool is of European descent. Altogether, our data support the view that the diffusion of agriculture into the Balkan region was mostly a cultural phenomenon although some genetic infiltration from Africa, the Levant, the Caucasus, and the Near East has occurred.
Am J Phys Anthropol - 2010.
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quote:Originally posted by Evergreen: Human Y-Chromosome Short Tandem Repeats: A Tale of Acculturation and Migrations as Mechanisms for the Diffusion of Agriculture in the Balkan Peninsula
Mirabal et al.
Am J Phys Anthropol - 2010.
The presence of haplogroup E1b1b in the peninsula at frequencies ranging from 5.6% in Croatia to 45.6% in Albania (Pericic´ et al., 2005) has been interpreted as signals of the genetic admixture experienced by European populations with Neolithic farmers (Semino et al., 2004). This North African marker is present in the Balkan region at considerably higher levels (i.e., 45.6% in Albania) than in Tunisian or Moroccan individuals (15.5% and 27.9%, respectively), and comparisons in the frequencies of the haplogroup throughout these areas are suggestive of alternative theories as to the haplogroup’s origin (possibly a Balkan ancestry). Nevertheless, deeper analyses indicate a marked bifurcation between individuals from these localities as samples from the Balkan states belong to the subclade E1b1b1a2-V13, a mutation considerably more recent in age (13.7 6 2.3 kya for E1b1b vs. 8.7 6 2.6 kya for E1b1b1a2) than that denoted by E1b1b-M35 (Cruciani et al., 2007) in North Africa. The frequency of E1b1b in Montenegro is intermediate within the range in the Balkans at 27.0%, whereas, in Serbia, it is observed at 17.3%. The gradients of the haplogroup throughout Europe (Fig. 4d) exhibit similar clinal patterns to the ones observed for I2a and also suggest that migrants may have taken a northeastern route into Russia rather than traversing toward western Europe (Pericic´ et al., 2005). These patterns have also been interpreted as remnants of the Bronze Age expansion throughout southeastern Europe (Cruciani et al., 2007).
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