Varijabilnost mitohondrijskog genskog pula stanovnika Republike Srbije
Mitochondrial gene pool variability of the residents of the Republic of Serbia
2023
Document Type:
Book part (Published version)
,
© 2023 by the Institute of Molecular Genetics and Genetic Engineering, University of Belgrade
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Show full item recordAbstract:
The mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is characterized by a number of features that make it suitable for study-
ing the evolutionary history of human populations based on molecular markers with the female-specific
line of inheritance. During the last decade, several scientific papers were published in which the mtDNA
variability in the population of Serbia was analyzed using markers of different resolution including com-
plete mitogenomes. In accordance with expectations based on historical, archaeological and other sources
that speak in favor of a very complex history of populations on the Balkan Peninsula, mtDNA data con-
firmed that Serbian population is characterized by a high level of mtDNA diversity, which is a consequence
of the exceptionally complex dynamics of this population over time. Today’s mtDNA profile of the Serbian
population does not differ from the matrilineal landscape characteristic of other European populations,
and according to genetic distances, this population occupies a central position within the group of South-
Slavic populations characterized by high heterogeneity. The Serbian population shares the highest per-
centage of mtDNA haplotypes with the geographically close populations of the Balkan Peninsula
belonging to the South-Slavic group, where potentially private haplotypes were also observed. Phyloge-
netic and phylogeographic analysis of complete mitogenomes in the Serbian population revealed rare
mtDNA lines, characteristic of other regions, such as the Middle East (N1b, HV2), East Asia (D4) and Africa
(L2a1), as well as those that are potentially specific for Balkan Peninsula, like K1a13a1, U4c1b1 and H6a2b.
In addition, Serbian population shares a certain number of mtDNA subhaplogroups with East- and West-
Slavic populations as well as with the Germanic populations of Northern and Central Europe. Studies of
mtDNA variability have shown that the exceptionally high mtDNA diversity in contemporary Serbian pop-
ulation may be associated with the genetic contribution of both Slavic and Germanic, as well as pre-Slavic
populations that inhabited the Balkan Peninsula before the Great Migration.
Keywords:
mitohondrijska DNK; populacija Srbije; genetički diverzitet; migracijeSource:
Trends in Molecular Biology, 2023, 3, 18-36Funding / projects:
- Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovation of the Republic of Serbia, institutional funding - 200042 (University of Belgrade, Institute of Molecular Genetics and Genetic Engineering) (RS-MESTD-inst-2020-200042)
- Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovation of the Republic of Serbia, institutional funding - 200007 (University of Belgrade, Institute for Biological Research 'Siniša Stanković') (RS-MESTD-inst-2020-200007)