title: Y-chromosomal phylogeny of the Volga-Ural and Siberian populations
reg no: ETF5574
project type: Estonian Science Foundation research grant
subject: 1.6-1.9. Chemistry and Molecular Biology
1.10-1.16. Bio-Geo Sciences
status: accepted
institution: Estonian Biocentre
head of project: Toomas Kivisild
duration: 01.01.2003 - 31.12.2006
description: Although not really numerous, the Finno-Ugric speaking populations are widely spread in north-central Eurasia. Our last 6 year work is covering nearly all FU speaking populations as well as virtually all Samoyedic speakers and most of their neighbours. So far the main research effort was devoted to mitochondrial DNA, i.e. to maternally inherited genetic lineages. Y chromosomes are recording the story of our descent by the male line. Previous phylopgenetic analyses of Y chromosome in Europe have shown distinction of populations from East, Southern and Western Europe on a very broad resolution distinguishing lineages that split from each other tens of thousands of years ago. East Europeans in general are distinguished from their western neighbors by high frequency of two Y chromosomal haplogroups. One of them (R1a) is also found among Iranian, Pakistan, Indian, and Central Asian populations living on the slopes of Hindu Kush and Pamir mountains. The other (N3a) is spread from Estonia to the Volga river basin and further on to norhteast Siberia. Our previous results in Tartu and Stanford have shown that only N3a twig of the N branch is found among the western Finno-Ugric people while in Volga-Ural region and in Siberia deeper, yet still unresolved, branches of the N and N3 boughs can be found. Moreover, there are now new markers that define a common stem for N and haplogroup O, that covers more than 80% of the present day Chinese population and is found also elsewhere in Southeast Asia and in Oceania. Thanks to our ongoing collaboration with colleagues from Ufa and Novosibirsk we maintain currently in Tartu a collection of DNA samples from Siberia and Finno-Ugric people from Volga-Ural region that is probably the largest available in the world today. Using primarily dHPLC method we will type for markers that already exist and screen for new ones that could specify when, from where and in what direction the phylogenetic splits with in the N branch of the Y chromosomal tree happened. For the purposes of coalescent time and within group diversity calculations variation at 16 standard STR markers will be typed.

project group
no name institution position  
1.Oleg BalanovskiEBK / VTA Med. geneetika Instituut, Moskvavisiting scienist 
2.Marina BermishevaEBC/ RAS Inst. of Bioch. and Genetics, Ufavisiting scientist 
3.Toomas KivisildEstonian Biocentresenior reseacher 
4.Ildus KutuevEBK / VTA Biokeemia ja Geneetika Instituut, Ufaavisiting scientist 
5.Mait MetspaluEBCresearcher 
6.Jüri ParikUniversity of Tartulecturer 
7.Liana PlissEBC/ Latvian Universityvisiting scientist 
8.Siiri RootsiEBCresearcher 
9.Richard VillemsEBC/TUdirector/prof.