The number of previous anthropological studies pointed to very complex ethn
ohistorical processes that shaped the current genetic structure of Croatian
island isolates. The scope of this study was limited to the general insigh
t into their founding populations and the overall level of genetic diversit
y based on the study mtDNA variation. A total of 444 randomly chosen adult
individuals from 32 rural communities of the islands of Krk, Brac Hvar and
Korcula were sampled. MtDNA HVS-I region together with RFLP sites diagnosti
c for main Eurasian and African mtDNA haplogroups were analysed in order to
determine the haplogroup structure. The most frequent haplogroups were "H"
(27.3-60.2%), "U" (10.2-24.1%), "J" (6.1-9.0%) and "T" (5.1-13.9%), which
is similar to the other European. and Near Eastern populations. The genetic
drift could have been important aspect in history, as there were examples
of excess frequencies of certain haplogroups (11.3% of "I" and 7.5% of "W"
in Krk, 10.5% of "HV" in. Brac 13.9% of "J" in Hvar and 60.2% of "H" in Kor
cula). As the settlements on the islands were formed trough several immigra
tory episodes of genetically distant populations, this analysis (performed
at the level of entire islands) showed greater genetic diversity (0.940-0.9
72) than expected at the level of particular settlements.