Comparative study of the Y chromosome diversity (Iran and Middle East)

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Comparative study of the Y chromosome diversity in some ethnic groups living in Iran and populations of the Middle East.
L. Andonian et al.

Background: The main goal of this study is to conduct a population genetic study of: a) Armenians living in Iran, in the context of general Armenian population; and b) Iranian Azeris, one of the biggest ethno-linguistic communities, in comparison with other Turkic-speaking populations of the Middle East (from eastern Turkey, Azerbaijan Republic and Turkmenistan). Methods: Buccal cells of 89 Armenian males from central Iran, the descendants of Armenians forcibly moved to Iran in the beginning of 17th century CE, and 105 Turkic-speaking Azeri males from north-west Iran (Tabriz) were collected by mouth swabs. The samples were screened for 12 Single Nucleotide (SNP) and 6 microsatellite markers on the non-recombining portion of the Y chromosome. The results of genetic typing were statistically analyzed using Arlequin software. Results: Iranian Armenians display a moderate level of genetic variation and are genetically closer to Western Armenians which is in agreement with historical records. Iranian Azeris demonstrate much weaker genetic resemblance with Turkmens (as putative source population) than with their geographic neighbors. Conclusion: Political, religious and geographic isolation had moderate influence on the genetic structure of modern Iranian Armenians during the last four centuries, which is expressed in lower diversity of their patrilineal genetic legacy. The imposition of Turkic language to the populations of north-west Iran was realized predominantly by the process of elite dominance,i.e. by the limited number of invaders who left weak traces in the patrilineal genetic history of Iranian Azeris.

http://www.ichg2011.org/abstracts/fulltext/