MtDNA and Y chromosome polymorphisms in Hungary: inferences from the palaeolithic, neolithic and Uralic influences on the modern Hungarian gene pool

Abstract

Magyars imposed their language on Hungarians but seem not to have affected their genetic structure. To better investigate this point, we analysed some mtDNA and Y chromosome polymorphisms in a sample of the Hungarian Palóc who, for historical reasons, could have retained genetic traces of Magyars more than other groups. In addition, we examined a mixed sample from Budapest. About 100 individuals were tested for the markers defining all the European and Asian mtDNA haplogroups and about 50 individuals for some Y chromosome markers, namely the 12f2 and 49a,f/TaqI RFLPs, the YAP insertion, the microsatellites YCAIIa, YCAIIb, DYS19 and the Asian 50f2/C deletion. In the mtDNA analysis only two subjects belonged to the Asian B and M haplogroups. The Y chromosome analyses showed that the Palóc differed from the Budapest sample by the absence of YAP + allele and by the DYS19 allele distribution; that the proto-European 49a,f Ht 15 and the neolithic 12f2-8Kb were rather uncommon in both groups; that there is a high prevalence of the 49a,f Ht 11 and the YCAII a5-b1; and that the Asian 50f2/C deletion is absent. These results suggest that the influence of Magyars on the Hungarian gene pool has been very low through both females and males and the Hungarian language could be an example of cultural dominance. Alternative explanations are discussed. An expansion centred on YAP -; 49a,f Ht 11 is revealed by the median network based on compound haplotypes. 49a,f Ht 11 could represent either a paleolithic marker of eastern Europe which underwent expansion after the last glacial period, or a marker of the more recent spread of the Yamnaia culture from southern Ukraine.

Different genetic components in the Norwegian population revealed by the analysis of mtDNA and Y chromosome polymorphisms

“…Positive selection is also a possible influence. The presence of mtDNA haplogroup J in our sample, and elsewhere in Northern Europe 9,18 shows that its frequency in Norway is even higher than in those areas from where it probably arrived. It would be intriguing, although very speculative, to hypothesise that the climate of Northern Europe may have played a selective pressure where the uncoupling of oxidative phosphorylation and the consequent higher production of heat in J individuals 39 …”

“…19,38,39 Discussion Both mtDNA and Y chromosome have helped to elucidate the re-population of Europe after the LGM (13 000 BP) and assess the impact of the spread of agriculture on the descendants of the European Palaeolithic gene pool. 7,18,22,35,37,38 Although distinctions were detected, indicative of some differences in demographic history regarding peopling of Europe, there is much concordance between the two uniparental loci. In particular they highlighted that most (about 80%) of the European genes descend from the small groups of humans that sought refuge from ice in a few scattered areas during the LGM, namely in northern Spain, in central Europe and Ukraine.…”

“…Here we report the results from Norwegian samples studied at relevant Y chromosome and mtDNA markers that have recently been used to reconstruct the prehistory of human groups in Europe. 7,18,19 The haplotypes defined by these polymorphisms were extremely useful in understanding the re-peopling of Europe that occurred following the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), the demic diffusion of Near Eastern agricuturalists that introduced agriculture in Europe: and the migration spread of Finno-Ugric Uralic speakers into Europe. Archaeological and genetic data indicates that these events strongly influenced the peopling of Norway and Scandinavia.…”

Y chromosome analysis reveals a sharp genetic boundary in the Carpathian region

“…This hypothesis is compatible with the data for Greece and Albania. 33 Moreover, the recently reported 35 frequency of this marker in Hungary (2.2%) has been attributed to a marginal effect of neolithic migrations in Eastern Europe and to a much later migration of northern and Uralic-speaking peoples in the Hungarian plain in the ninth century AD. This event may also be responsible for a boundary detected in the analysis of 63 autosomal protein variant allele frequencies in Europe.…”

H1 tau haplotype-related genomic variation at 17q21.3 as an Asian heritage of the European Gypsy population

“…Various genetic appraisals have estimated that the newly arrived Hungarians accounted for 10-50% of the total population of the Carpathian Basin (CavalliSforza, 1994). During the turbulent history of present-day Hungary, the mixing process has continued, and Hungarians can now be regarded as members of a mixed European population (Semino et al, 2000).…”