In Croatia, the majority of the common bean production is based on local landraces, grown by small-scale farmers in low input production systems. Landraces are adapted to the specific growing conditions and agro-environments and show a great morphological diversity. These local landraces are in danger of genetic erosion caused by complex socio-economic changes in rural communities. The low profitability of farms and their small size, the advanced age of farmers and the replacement of traditional landraces with modern bean cultivars and/or other more profitable crops have been identified as the major factors affecting genetic erosion. Three hundred accessions belonging to most widely used landraces were evaluated by phaseolin genotyping and microsatellite marker analysis. A total of 183 different multi-locus genotypes in the panel of 300 accessions were revealed using 26 microsatellite markers. Out of 183 accessions, 27.32% were of Mesoamerican origin, 68.31% of Andean, while 4.37% of accessions represented putative hybrids between gene pools. Accessions of Andean origin were further classified into phaseolin type II (“H” or “C”) and III (“T”), the latter being more frequent. A model-based cluster analysis based on microsatellite markers revealed the presence of three clusters in congruence with the results of phaseolin type analysis.

Background and AimsThe Roma (Gypsies) are a transnational minority, founder population characterized by unique genetic background modeled by culturally determined endogamy. The present study explores whether the widely found cardiovascular diseases (CVD) risk effects of ACE I/D, APOE (ε2, ε3, ε4), eNOS-VNTR and LEP G2548A polymorphisms can be replicated in this specific population.Methods and ResultsThe community-based study was carried on 208 adult Bayash Roma living in rural settlements of eastern and northern Croatia. Risk effect of four CVD candidate polymorphisms are related to the most prominent classical CVD risk phenotypes: obesity indicators (body mass index and waist circumference), hypertension and hyperlipidemia (triglycerides, HDL and LDL cholesterol). For all of them the standard risk cut-offs were applied. The extent to which the phenotypic status is related to genotype was assessed by logistic regression analysis. The strongest associations were found for ε2 allele of the APOE as a predictor of waist circumference (OR 3.301; 95%CI 1.254-8.688; p = 0.016) as well as for BMI (OR 3.547; 95%CI 1.471-8.557; p = 0.005). It is notable that ε3 allele of APOE gene turned out to be a protective genetic factor determining low lipid levels.ConclusionThe strength of the relation and the similarity of the results obtained for both tested indicators of obesity provide firm evidence that APOE plays an important role in obesity development in the Roma population.

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The Roma are comprised of many founder groups of common Indian origins but different socio-cultural characteristics. The Vlax Roma are one of the founder Roma populations characterized by a period of bondage in the historic Romanian principalities, and by the archaic Romanian language. Demographic history suggests different migration routes of Roma populations, especially after their arrival in Mesopotamia and the eastern boundary of the Byzantine Empire. Although various genetic studies of uniparental genetic markers showed a connection between Roma genetic legacy and their migration routes, precise sampling of Roma populations elucidates this relationship in more detail. In this study, we analyzed mitochondrial DNA of 384 Croatian Vlax Roma from two geographic locations in the context of 734 European Roma samples. Our results show that Roma migration routes are marked with two Near-Eastern haplogroups, X2 and U3, whose inverse proportional incidence clearly separates the Balkan and the Vlax Roma from other Roma populations that reached Europe as part of the first migration wave. Spatial and temporal characteristics of these haplogroups indicate a possibility of their admixture with Roma populations before arrival in Europe. Distribution of haplogroup M35 indicates that all Vlax Roma populations descend from one single founder population that might even reach back to the original ancestral Indian population. Founder effects followed by strict endogamy rules can be traced from India to contemporary small, local communities, as in the case of two Croatian Vlax Roma populations that show clear population differentiation despite similar origins and shared demographic history.

Common bean is one of the most cultivated and consumed grain legumes worldwide, showing a high level of genetic diversity. Here is presented a detailed review of development and mapping of simple sequence repeats (SSRs, microsatellite markers) in the common bean. In the last 25 years, common bean has been the subject of numerous genetic studies, in which the identification and use of SSRs were conducted, and lead to the development of genetic maps. First genetic maps of common bean have been developed in the 1990s and were based on different molecular markers, and included domestication genes and important agronomic traits. Later, SSRs allowed the genetic mapping of more narrow crosses that are often of interest in plant breeding. Most genetic maps have been correlated with the core map established in the recombinant inbred population BAT93 x Jalo EEP558, and includes different markers, RFLP (restriction fragment length polymorphism), RAPD (random amplified polymorphic DNA), AFLP (amplified fragment length polymorphism), and SSRs in particular. More than 2,000 SSR markers are available for the common bean and they are an important tool to evaluate the genetic diversity of common bean landraces. SSRs are also useful to evaluate intra-specific diversity within the genus Phaseolus. Keywords: common bean, genetic diversity, genetic maps, microsatellite markers902 Journal of Central European Agriculture, 2017, 18(4), p.902-917 DOI: 10.5513/JCEA01/18.4.1983 902 Journal of Central European Agriculture, 2017, 18(4), p.902-917 DOI: 10.5513/JCEA01/18.4.1983 902 Journal of Central European Agriculture, 2017, 18(4), p.902-917 DOI: 10. 902Journal of Central European Agriculture, 2017, 18(4), p.902-917 DOI: 10.5513/JCEA01/18.4.1983 Sažetak Grah je jedna od najviše uzgajanih i najviše korištenih zrnatih mahunarki u svijetu koja ima visoku razinu genetske raznolikosti. U ovom radu je prikazan detaljan pregled razvoja i kartiranja mikrosatelitnih biljega (SSR, ponavljajuće jednostavne sekvence) kod graha. U posljednjih 25 godina, grah je bio predmetom brojnih genetskih istraživanja u kojima je provedena identifikacija i upotreba SSR-ova što je dovelo do razvoja genetskih karata. Prve genetske karte graha su razvijene u 1990-ima i bile su bazirane na različitim molekularnim biljezima, a uključivale su gene koji su povezani uz udomaćenje i važna agronomska svojstva. Kasnije su SSR-ovi omogućili genetsko kartiranje križanaca koji su često od interesa u oplemenjivanju bilja. Većina genetskih karata povezana je s osnovnom genetskom kartom uspostavljenom na rekombinantnoj inbred liniji BAT93 x Jalo EEP558, koja uključuje različite biljege kao što su RFLP (polimorfizam dužine restrikcijskih ulomaka), RAPD (nasumično umnožena polimorfna DNA), AFLP (polimorfizam dužine umnoženih ulomaka) te SSR-ove. Više od 2 000 SSR biljega je dostupno za grah i oni su važan alat za procjenu genetske raznolikosti tradicijskih kultivara graha. SSR-ovi su također korisni za procjenu unutarvrsne raznolikosti unutar roda Phaseolus.

Leptin, a possible mediator between energy homeostasis, inflammation and cardiovascular disease (CVD), acts via leptin receptors. We investigated association of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and haplotypes of the leptin receptor gene (LEPR) with several CVD risk factors: body mass index, waist circumference (WC), serum lipids, fibrinogen and C-reactive protein levels. Thirty-one SNPs in and near LEPR gene were analyzed in 986 inhabitants of the island of Vis, Croatia and 29 SNPs in the inland sample (N=499). We assessed linkage disequilibrium (LD), SNP and haplotype associations with the selected phenotypes. rs4291477 significantly associated with fibrinogen (P=0.003) and rs7539471 marginally significantly with high-density lipoprotein (P=0.004), but only in the Vis sample, while rs10493384 marginally significantly associated with triglyceride levels (P=0.006) in the inland sample. SNPs were grouped into eight LD blocks in Vis and in seven blocks in the inland population. Haplotype A-C-A-A-G-A in block 5 in Vis (rs1782754, rs1171269, rs1022981, rs6673324, rs3790426, rs10493380) and haplotype A-A-A-A in block 4 in the inland data (rs1782754, rs1022981, rs6673324, rs1137100) were nominally associated with WC, P=7.085 × 10(-22) (adjusted P=0.0979) and P=5.496 × 10(-144) (adjusted P=0.1062), respectively.

To assess how specific population history, different migration routes, isolation, and endogamy practices contributed to the distribution of several rare diseases found in specific Roma groups, we conducted a populationbased research study of rare disease mutations in Croatian Vlax Roma. We tested a total of 427 subjects from Baranja and MeCimurje for the presence of four mutations causing hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy type Lom (HMSNL), GM1 gangliosidosis (GM1), congenital cataracts, facial dysmorphism and neuropathy (CCFDN), and limb girdle muscle dystrophy type 2C (LGMD2C), using the RFLP-PCR method to estimate carrier frequencies. We identified a total of four individuals heterozygous for the mutation causing HMSNL in the Baranja population, with a carrier rate amounting to 1.5%. Carriers for other three mutations causing GM1, CCFDN, and LGMD2C were not found in our sample. The carrier rate for the HMSNL mutation in Baranja is lower than in other Vlax Roma groups. In addition, distinct differences in carrier rates between the Croatian Vlax groups point to different genetic history, despite their belonging to the same Roma migration category and subgroup. The difference in carrier rates is either the result of admixture or the reflection of a greater extent of genetic drift since recent founding, maintained by a high degree of endogamy.