Different regional populations from Poland were studied in order to assess the genetic heterogeneity within Poland, investigate the genetic relationships with other European populations and provide a population-specific reference database for anthropological and forensic studies. Nine Y-chromosomal microsatellites were analysed in a total of 919 unrelated males from six regions of Poland and in 1,273 male individuals from nine other European populations. AMOVA revealed that all of the molecular variation in the Polish dataset is due to variation within populations, and no variation was detected among populations of different regions of Poland. However, in the non-Polish European dataset 9.3% ( P<0.0001) of the total variation was due to differences among populations. Consequently, differences in R(ST)-values between all possible pairs of Polish populations were not statistically significant, whereas significant differences were observed in nearly all comparisons of Polish and non-Polish European populations. Phylogenetic analyses demonstrated tight clustering of Polish populations separated from non-Polish groups. Population clustering based on Y-STR haplotypes generally correlates well with the geography and history of the region. Thus, our data are consistent with the assumption of homogeneity of present-day paternal lineages within Poland and their distinctiveness from other parts of Europe, at least in respect to their Y-STR haplotypes. Electronic supplementary material to this paper can be obtained by using the Springer LINK server located at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00439-002-0728-0.

PMID: 12107446 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Other extracts from this paper:

Population samples from Germany and Russia also showed similarities to Polish populations, with relatively small RST-values on pairwise comparisons (0.0176-0.097). It is noteworthy that all but one of the comparisons between the six Polish populations and the Russians revealed statistically non-significant differences (0.05 0.001). These genetic similarities are most probably a result of the common Slavic origin. On the other hand, small genetic distances between all of the Polish-German population pairs were statistically significant (P<0.0001), which might reflect the different background of Slavic-speaking and German-speaking populations. The significant differences revealed between Polish and German samples are especially striking, since the two populations have had close contact during the last millennium and both have inhabited the territory of present-day Poland. This demonstrates a continuous lack of admixture between Germans and Poles, most probably for social, religious and cultural reasons. Genetic difference between Germans and Poles have been reported previously, based on a 1-bp deletion at the Y-chromosomal marker M17 (haplotype Eu19; Semino et al. 2000), which has a high frequency in Poles (56%) but a much lower frequency in Germans (6%). However, other studies, using the Y-SNP marker SRY-1532b (synonym SRY 10831b, haplogroup 3), which characterises basically the same Y chromosome lineage (Tyler-Smith 1999; Wheale et al. 2001; The Y Chromosome Consortium 2002), have found a much higher frequency of ~30% in larger samples from Germany (M. Kayser, unpublished data; Rosser et al. 2000; Zerjal et al. 1999), which is still only about half the frequency in Poland.

Appendix 2 Content List: Studies of the extent and effect of racial mixing in selected European population groups

Part 1: Racial Mixing in Selected European Groups: Introduction

Part 2: The Black African Genetic Footprint: Sickle Cell Disease

Part 3: Racial Mixing Brought the Hemoglobin D disorder to Britain and Ireland

Part 4: The Mendelian Laws of Genetics -  dominant and recessive racially mixed genes

Part 5: European Footprint: Hereditary Hemochromatosis - a genetically inherited disease

Part 6: Genetic Evidence of Avar and Hunnish Admixture in Central Europe

Part 7: Western European Genetic Remnants in Egypt

Part 8: Genetic Evidence of Racial Mixing in Greece

Part 9: Genetic Evidence of Racial Mixing in Italy

Part 10: Genetic Evidence of Racial Mixing in Portugal

Part 11: Genetic Evidence of Racial Mixing in Spain

Part 12: Genetic Homogeneity in Poland

Part 13: Genetic Homogeneity in Norway

Part 14: Finland, the Lapps and the Tat-C Controversy

Part 15: Y-Chromosomes as Racial Markers

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