Ma. Bermisheva et al., Polymorphism of hypervariable segment I of mitochondrial DNA in three ethnic populations from the Volga-Ural region, RUSS J GEN, 37(8), 2001, pp. 932-938
A population genetic study of the polymorphism in the first hypervariable s
egment (HVSI) of mitochondrial DNA control region was carried out for three
ethnic populations of the Volga-Ural region, Bashkirs, Russians, and Komi-
Permyaks. This analysis showed that most of the mtDNA HVSI haplotypes detec
ted in the populations of Bashkirs, Russians and Komi-Permyaks contained th
e combinations of nucleotide substitutions detected earlier in European, an
d, to a lesser extent, Asian. These findings are consistent with historical
, anthropological, and ethnographical data suggesting the presence of Europ
ean and Mongoloid components of different geographical descent in the gene
pool of the contemporary population of the Volga-Ural region. The data on t
he genetic structure and the phylogenetic relationships between populations
of the Volga-Ural region based on modern molecular genetic methods of mito
chondrial genome investigation would be a substantial addition to the alrea
dy existing information for some other regions of Europe and Asia. These da
ta would provide more complete examination of the development of interethni
c diversity of mitochondrial gene pools of contemporary ethnic populations
with the purpose of reconstructing the genetic demographic processes that a
ccompanied peopling of the Middle Ural and Volga region.