Maternal Genetic Composition of a Medieval Population from a Hungarian-Slavic Contact Zone in Central Europe.
other · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 26963389.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0151206 and PMC identifier 4786151.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
The genetic composition of the medieval populations of Central Europe has been poorly investigated to date. In particular, the region of modern-day Slovakia is a blank spot in archaeogenetic research. This paper reports the study of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in ancient samples from the 9th-12th centuries originating from the cemeteries discovered in Nitra-Šindolka and Čakajovce, located in western Slovakia (Central Europe). This geographical region is interesting to study because its medieval multi-ethnic population lived in the so-called contact zone of the territory of the Great Moravian and later Hungarian state formations. We described 16 different mtDNA haplotypes in 19 individuals, which belong to the most widespread European mtDNA haplogroups: H, J, T, U and R0. Using comparative statistical and population genetic analyses, we showed the differentiation of the European gene pool in the medieval period. We also demonstrated the heterogeneous genetic characteristics of the investigated population and its affinity to the populations of modern Europe.
Medical subject headings
- DNA, Mitochondrial
- Genetics, Medical
- Haplotypes
- Population Dynamics