Ethnicity and malaria affect surname distribution in Cosenza Province (Italy)

Three samples of surnames reported in the telephone directory of Cosenza pr ovince, Italy, are used, singly and together, to detect the presence of gen etic barriers and to analyze the genetic relationship between the Italian a nd the Italo-Albanian communities living in this area. The genetic structur e of the population seems characterized by the distinction between the nort hern and southern regions of the province. The Sibari plain, endemic with m alaria until recently, probably constituted a genetic barrier. In the south ern region of the province, the valley along the Crati river (also occupied by malarial fenlands), constituted a genetic barrier between the northern Sila upland and the western coast. Surname similarities between Italians an d Italo-Albanians could be the result of gene flow and/or an initial choice of similar surnames; the second possibility accords with the persistence o f the Albanian cultural identity and the level of endogamy in Albanian comm unities. In fact, the coefficient of relationship by isonomy (R-i), which i s significantly higher in Italo-Albanians than in Italians, may be the resu lt of genetic isolation and endogamy.