Central Asia is a vast region at the crossroads of different habitats, cultures, and trade routes. Little is known about the genetics and the history of the population of this region.
mtDNA control-region sequences in samples of the Kazakh, the Uighurs, the lowland Kirghiz, and the highland Kirghiz
- Central Asian mtDNA sequences present features intermediate between European and eastern Asian sequences. (9837835)
- Several hypotheses could explain the intermediate position of central Asia between Europe and eastern Asia, but the most plausible would involve extensive levels of admixture between Europeans and eastern Asians in central Asia, possibly enhanced during the Silk Road trade and clearly after the eastern and western Eurasian human groups had diverged. (9837835)
- Lowland and highland Kirghiz mtDNA sequences are very similar, and the analysis of molecular variance has revealed that the fraction of mitochondrial genetic variance due to altitude is not significantly different from zero. (9837835)
References
Comas D, Plaza S, Wells RS, Yuldaseva N, Lao O, Calafell F, Bertranpetit J. Admixture, migrations, and dispersals in Central Asia: evidence from maternal DNA lineages. Eur J Hum Genet. 2004 Jun;12(6):495-504. PMID: 14872198
Perez-Lezaun A, Calafell F, Comas D, Mateu E, Bosch E, Martinez-Arias R, Clarimon J, Fiori G, Luiselli D, Facchini F, Pettener D, Bertranpetit J. Sex-specific migration patterns in Central Asian populations, revealed by analysis of Y-chromosome short tandem repeats and mtDNA. Am J Hum Genet. 1999 Jul;65(1):208-19. PMID: 10364534
Comas D, Calafell F, Mateu E, Perez-Lezaun A, Bosch E, Martinez-Arias R, Clarimon J, Facchini F, Fiori G, Luiselli D, Pettener D, Bertranpetit J. Trading genes along the silk road: mtDNA sequences and the origin of central Asian populations. Am J Hum Genet. 1998 Dec;63(6):1824-38. PMID: 9837835