This conclusion was made by geneticists through analyzing variable consecutions of DNA of mitochondria and of some sections of Y-chromosome with representatives of 10 Russian populations from the Stavropol Territory in the south through the Pskov Region in the north and from the Orel Region in the west through the Nizhni Novgorod Region in the east. The mitochondrial DNA is inherited from generation to generation along a female line, DNA of Y- chromosome – along a male line. Analysis of variability of these consecutions allows to judge about migrations of our forefathers and foremothers.
Along the maternal line, Russian populations are rather close to each other. They can be conditionally split into two zones. Inhabitants of the south-eastern zone (including the Orel, Rostov, Kursk, Kaluga and Saratov Regions and the Stavropol Territory) have the roots among western Slavs, Baltic and some Finno-Ugric nations (Poles, Lithuanians and Estonians). Ancestors of Russians in the north-eastern zone took wives from the Finno-Ugric and other nations of Eastern Europe (Finns, Karelians, Maris, Tatars and Adygeis).
Comparison of Y-chromosomes of Russian populations provides different results. Only the Pskov and coast-dweller populations are close along the paternal line to the Finno-Ugric and Baltic nations of the Northern and Eastern Europe, the overwhelming majority of Russians are relatives to the Poles, Ukrainians and Byelorussians. Judging by consecution variations of the “male” chromosome, the Slavs, arriving in various locations of Eastern Europe, contacted in different ways with residential population: in some places - closely and in some others – otherwise.
Genetic analysis results agree with the anthropological data, according to which Russian populations can be divided into three zones. In the western part of the ethnic territory, Russians descend from the Slavs who had come from Central Europe. Russian population of the central part appeared as a result of mixture of the Slavs with the Finno-Ugric nations, Eastern European mothers dominating in these populations, and the population of the North evidently has in its genealogy Finno-Ugric ancestors of both sexes. According to the geneticists, the reasons for these differences are caused by different participation of men and women in Slavonic migrations. Women apparently participated only in early phases of the Slavs’ migration into Eastern Europe. Starting from the 9th century, colonization of the east and the north of Eastern Europe was mainly performed by men who chose wives from residential population. The obtained picture needs more precise definition, therefore the researchers are planning to further investigate variability of specific “maternal” and “ paternal” DNAs in different Russian populations.
Sergey Komarov | Source: alphagalileo
Further information: www.informnauka.ru
More articles from Life Sciences:
Spheres can form squares
24.05.2013 | Wageningen University
Ferrets, pigs susceptible to H7N9 avian influenza virus
24.05.2013 | NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
This morning at 05:45 CEST, the earth trembled beneath the Okhotsk Sea in the Pacific Northwest. The quake, with a magnitude of 8.2, took place at an exceptional depth of 605 kilometers.
Because of the great depth of the earthquake a tsunami is not expected and there should also be no major damage due to shaking.
Professor Frederik Tilmann of the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences: "The epicenter is exceptionally deep, far below the earth's crust in the mantle. Such strong ...
The Ring Nebula's distinctive shape makes it a popular illustration for astronomy books. But new observations by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope of the glowing gas shroud around an old, dying, sun-like star reveal a new twist.
"The nebula is not like a bagel, but rather, it's like a jelly doughnut, because it's filled with material in the middle," said C. Robert O'Dell of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn.
He leads a research team that used Hubble and several ground-based telescopes to obtain the best view yet of ...
New indicator molecules visualise the activation of auto-aggressive T cells in the body as never before
Biological processes are generally based on events at the molecular and cellular level. To understand what happens in the course of infections, diseases or normal bodily functions, scientists would need to examine individual cells and their activity directly in the tissue.
The development of new microscopes and fluorescent dyes in ...
A fried breakfast food popular in Spain provided the inspiration for the development of doughnut-shaped droplets that may provide scientists with a new approach for studying fundamental issues in physics, mathematics and materials.
The doughnut-shaped droplets, a shape known as toroidal, are formed from two dissimilar liquids using a simple rotating stage and an injection needle. About a millimeter in overall size, the droplets are produced individually, their shapes maintained by a surrounding springy material made of polymers.
Droplets in this toroidal shape made ...
Frauhofer FEP will present a novel roll-to-roll manufacturing process for high-barriers and functional films for flexible displays at the SID DisplayWeek 2013 in Vancouver – the International showcase for the Display Industry.
Displays that are flexible and paper thin at the same time?! What might still seem like science fiction will be a major topic at the SID Display Week 2013 that currently takes place in Vancouver in Canada.
High manufacturing cost and a short lifetime are still a major obstacle on ...
24.05.2013 | Life Sciences
Atlantic Research Expedition Uncovers Vast Methane-Based Ecosystem
24.05.2013 | Ecology, The Environment and Conservation
A Hidden Population of Exotic Neutron Stars
24.05.2013 | Physics and Astronomy
ITS European Congress: Traffic Warning and Information Platform
17.05.2013 | Event News
European Research Infrastructures help to solve air quality issues
15.05.2013 | Event News
The Problem of the European Unemployment
08.05.2013 | Event News