Haplotypes at two diallelic Y-chromosome loci in the indigenous and migrant populations of Siberia

Two diallelic Y-chromosome markers, the Y Alu polymorphism (YAP) and the T- C transition (Tat), were analyzed in the indigenous (Tuvinian, Buryat, Nort hern Altaian, and Tatar) and migrant (Slavic) populations of Siberia. A hig h frequency of the allele C was revealed in several indigenous populations (25-55%) and in Russians (20.8%). The YAP+ allele occurred at a surprisingl y high frequency (31.4%) and was completely linked with the C allele in Bur yats. The YAP+ chromosome was also found in the Tuvinian population (1.5%). The two diallelic loci showed a marked linkage disequilibrium (D' = 92.4%) ill the total sample. The YAP-/T and YAP-/C haplotypes prevailed in both i ndigenous and migrant populations: their respective frequencies were 80.4 a nd 19.6% in the Slavic population and 71.8 and 19.9% in the indigenous one. The YAP+/C (7.8%) and YAP+/T (0.5%) haplotypes were found only in the indi genous population. An appreciable heterogeneity in haplotype frequency dist ribution between regional subpopulations was revealed in Russians, Tuvinian s, and Buryats. The origin and evolution of Y-chromosome lines in Northern Asia are considered.