Boundaries and clines in the West Eurasian Y‐chromosome landscape: Insights from the European part of Russia

2008/05/09 by Angela Fechner, Dominique Quinque, S. Yu. Rychkov +8 · 4 citations
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #Forensic and Genetic Research #Genetic diversity and population structure #Race, Genetics, and Society #Haplogroup #Geography #Chromosome #Evolutionary biology #Biology #Volga region #Haplotype #Genetics #Gene #Ethnology #Allele #History

paper · doi:10.1002/ajpa.20838

openalex publication_date 2008/05/09 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/23

Abstract

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.

Citations

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• Differential Systematics

Cited by

• Assembly of a large Y-STR haplotype database for the Czech population and investigation of its substructure
• Uniparental Genetic Heritage of Belarusians: Encounter of Rare Middle Eastern Matrilineages with a Central European Mitochondrial DNA Pool
• A western Eurasian male is found in 2000‐year‐old elite Xiongnu cemetery in Northeast Mongolia
• Haplogroup T-M184 [wikipedia]