[Analysis of DNA of higher primates using inter-SINE PCR].

Two types (MIR and Alu) of short interspersed repeated DNA sequences (SINEs) were used for analysis of genetic relationships among higher primates, and for detection of polymorphism in human genomic DNA. The DNA regions located between the neighboring copies of these SINEs were amplified in polymerase chain reaction with primers complementary to the MIR and Alu consensus sequences (inter-SINE PCR). Comparison of the sets of amplified DNA fragments for different species or individuals provides evaluation of the relationships among them. Using inter-MIR PCR technique, the relationships among the higher primates of the infraorder Catarrhini reported elsewhere were confirmed, pointing to the efficiency of the method for phylogenetic studies. No human DNA polymorphism was revealed with the help of inter-MIR PCR. This polymorphism was detected by means of inter-Alu PCR, which is probably associated with the continuing amplification of Alu elements in human genome.

[Genetic-demographic study of the Gagauz population of Moldava]. / Genetiko-demograficheskoe issledovanie populiatsii gagauzov Moldavii.

The genetic demographic structure of the Gagauz population of Moldova has been described for the first time. Data of interviews and official records have been used to analyze the sex and age structure of the population and marriage relationships, as well as to estimate the effective sizes of the populations of six settlements and selection intensity (according to Crow's formula). The demographic data indicate that social transformations have substantially affected the genetic demographic parameters of the population. The gene exchange rate per generation has been determined (m = 0.0204 in 1972 and m = 0.0309 in 1997). The estimated ratio between the components of Crow's index (I(m) < I(f)) in the Gagauz population is similar to those for the populations of developed countries with traditionally rural lifestyles. The study of marriage relationships of the Gagauz population has shown that Gagauzes are intensely mixing with Moldovans, Bulgarians, Russians, and Ukrainians.

[Geography of genetic processes in populations: gene migrations in Siberia and Far East]. / Geografiia geneticheskikh protsessov v narodonaselenii: gennye v migratsii v Sibiri i na Dal'nem Vostoke.

A map of gene migration rate m in the indigenous population of Siberia and the Russian Far East was constructed on the basis of data obtained from questionnaires of 1960 to 1990. The mean gene migration rate weighted with respect to the region area and averaged over 3951 grid nodes was m = 0.0083. Weighting with respect to population density yielded a significantly lower rate (m = 0.0053), which reflected a more intense gene exchange in less populous regions of traditional nomadism. The association between gene migration rate m and genetically effective population size Ne was analyzed. The parameter Nem, which characterizes the interpopulation gene diversity, was used to identify regions where this parameter is autoregulated and those where the autoregulatory mechanisms were disrupted. A tree of ethnolinguistic types was constructed. Its analysis did not reveal any association between migration structure and linguistic characteristics, suggesting that the spreading of cultural elements is not necessarily associated with migration. The tree was also used to construct a map of ethnos-forming migration; its major element reflected migration from the Baikal and Altai regions to the ethnic region of modern Yakuts.

Variable and invariable DNA repeat characters revealed by taxonprint approach are useful for molecular systematics.

A specially optimized restriction analysis of highly repetitive DNA elements, called DNA taxonprint, was applied for phylogenetic study of primates and lizards. It was shown that electrophoretic bands of DNA repeats revealed by the taxonprint technique have valuable properties for molecular systematics. Approximately half of taxonprint bands (TB) are invariable and do not disappear from the genomes during evolution or change spontaneously. Presumably these invariable bands are restriction fragments of dispersed DNA repeats. Another group represents variable taxonprint bands that differ even between closely related species. These variable bands are probably represented by tandem DNA repeats and could be used as species-specific markers. It was shown that taxonprint bands are independent characters since the appearance of a new taxonprint band does not change the previous band pattern. Phylogenetic reconstruction carried out on taxonprint data demonstrated that this approach could be of general utility for molecular systematics and species identification.

Restriction endonuclease analysis of highly repetitive DNA as a phylogenetic tool.

Multiple band patterns of DNA repeats in the 20-500-nucleotide range can be detected by digesting genomic DNA with short-cutting restriction endonucleases, followed by end labeling of the restriction fragments and fractionation in nondenaturing polyacrylamide gels. We call such band patterns obtained from genomic DNA "taxonprints" (Fedorov et al. 1992). Here we show that taxonprints for the taxonomic groups studied (mammals, reptiles, fish, insects-altogether more than 50 species) have the following properties: (1) All individuals from the same species have identical taxonprints. (2) Taxonprint bands can be subdivided into those specific for a single species and those specific for groups of closely related species, genera, and even families. (3) Each restriction endonuclease produces unique band patterns; thus, five to ten restriction enzymes (about 100 bands) may be sufficient for a statistical treatment of phylogenetic relationships based on polymorphisms of restriction endinuclease sites. We demonstrate that taxonprint analysis allows one to distinguish closely related species and to establish the degree of similarity among species and among genera. These characteristics make taxonprint analysis a valuable tool for taxonomic and phylogenetic studies.

[Geography of genetic processes in human populations: gene migration in Northern Eurasia (European region)]. / Geografiia geneticheskikh protsessov v narodonaselenii: gennye migratsii v Severnoi Evrazii (Evropeiskii region).

A method of transformation of census data on population migration into data on gene migrations is proposed. Based on the 1970 Population census of the former Soviet Union, coefficients of effective direct migration m in 91 population of the oblast size in the European part of Russia were estimated. Each coefficient was calculated as the geometric mean of effective values for the island and stepping-stone models of population structure. A map of the geographic distribution of gene migrations was constructed. Low rates of gene migrations were shown to be associated with steppe-forest and deciduous forest zones. Mean coefficients of gene migration estimated from the observed data for the European region and from the map data weighted by the area sizes were respectively m = 0.0156 +/- 0.0011 and m = 0.0232 +/- 0.0011. In view of the fact that the census data were collected simultaneously, all m values were multiplied by 2.8 in order to estimate gene migration rate per generation. Correlation analysis of gene migration coefficients m and genetically effective population sizes Ne demonstrated that these population parameters are independent. This analysis showed the reverse relationship between the rate of gene migration into a population and population density, in particular, density of settlements within the population area.

[Geography of effective size of rural populations of Northern Eurasia. Geographic correlation between effective size and level of heterozygosity of populations]. / Geografiia éffektivnogo razmera sel'skogo naseleniia Severnoi Evrazii. Geograficheskaia korreliatsiia éffektivnogo razmera i urovnia geterozigotnosti populiatsii.

A significant geographical correlation (r = 0.719) was found between the logarithm of effective size (InNe) and heterozygosity level (H) in populations under the assumption of the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The area of highest positive correlation was positioned meridionally between the Ob and Yenisei rivers, from the Arctic coast of Taimyr Peninsula to eastern Sayans and the southern Cis-Baikal region, i.e., in the same region where the highest distribution density of mean Ne values was found. Two additional areas of high correlations were found on the northern Black Sea coast and in the lower Lena river region. Analysis and mapping of correlation ratios eta H/lnNe2 and eta lnNe/H2 revealed that effective size substantially influenced heterozygosity level (as could be expected in the case of an intense gene drift), and heterozygosity level influenced effective size to the same extent. The latter relationship indicated an intense adaptation, and changes in diversity of the gene pool caused substantial demographic changes. However, this might be accounted for by direct gene migration into a population prevailing over reverse migration, i.e., mechanical population growth prevailing over natural growth.

[Geography of effective size in the rural population of northern Eurasia: effective size and the intensity of random genetic drift]. / Geografiia éffektivnogo razmera sel'skogo naseleniia Severnoi Evrazii. Effektivnyi razmer i intensivnost' sluchainogo dreifa genov.

On the basis of 655 direct and indirect estimations of effective size (Ne) of rural populations, a map of the geographic distribution of Ne in northern Eurasia was constructed. A geographic cline of Ne was found, with its value decreasing by three orders of magnitude from the direction of southwest (the western Caucasus and Central Asia) to northeast (the coasts of the Sea of Okhotsk and the Bering Sea). The area of highest distribution density of mean Ne values was situated meridionally between the Ob and Yenisei rivers from the Arctic coast of Taimyr Peninsula to the eastern Sayany and the south Baikal regions. Another similar area covered the south Baltic region, Belarus, and northwestern Ukraine. The average effective population size in northern Eurasia was Ne = 211.6, the geometrical mean G = 176, the harmonic mean H = 147, and the modal value Mo = 102. These characteristics of effective population size indicate a considerable contribution of stochastic gene drift to the differentiation of the northern Eurasian gene pool and the geographic cline of the rate of gene drift in the subcontinent. By means of transformation of the Ne map, a map for the rate of stochastic gene drift (1/4Ne) in northern Eurasia was obtained.

[Lactase polymorphism in representatives of different ethnic-territorial groups]. / Issledovanie laktaznogo polimorfizma u predstavitelei razlichnykh étnoterritorial'nykh grupp.

Lactase polymorphism was studied in the native population of West Siberia and also in Buryatia. LAC*R frequency observed is-Khants- 0.8367, Mansi - 0.8660, Nenets - 0.8944, Buryats - 0.6883. The data obtained are considered to be the result of natural selection under traditional historical economical-cultural environment of the ethnic groups in question.

[Koryaks of Kamchatka. Geographical structure. Effective size and gene migrations in the population]. / Koriaki Kamchatki. Prostranstvennaia struktura. Effektivnyi razmer i migratsii genov v populiatsii.

Geographical structure, the effective size and gene migration of the population of Koryaks in Kamchatka peninsular were studied. The koryak population was shown to have no specific differences, as compared with other populations of Siberia of the same traditional economic and cultural structure with respect to the age composition, mean age and Ne/Nt = 29%. It was established that the intensity of gene migration over a micropopulation is me = 0.0218 +/- 0.091 for the "island" model of gene migration and me = 0.0260 +/- 0.0014 for the stepping-stone model of gene migration.

[Dermatoglyphics in the study of genetic processes in human populations (the example of the population of Arminia)]. / Dermatoglifika v izuchenii geneticheskikih protsessov v populiatsiiakh chekoveka (na primere naseleniia Armenii).

Demographic data on the sizes of local populations of Armenia and the rates of people migration were employed for prediction of genetic differentiation level using S. Wright's f-statistics. This expected value of fe was applied for approximation of the observed level of dermatoglyphic f0d and familial f0n differentiation. Both empirical estimations of f were found to be closely to each other (f0d = 0,0616, f0n = 0,0600) and fall within the limits 0,0712 greater than or equal to fst greater than or equal to 0,0580 predicted from "island" model of Armenian population structure. The present state and direction of the genetic process in Armenia is discussed in the paper with the main conclusion that the dermatoglyphics and family surnames could be used in studies of the genetic process in human population.

[Koryak of Kamchatka. The genetic differentiation of the population]. / Koriaki Kamchatki. Geneticheskaia differentsiatsiia populiatsii.

It has been established that by the set of loci the average standardized genetic variance, Fo, is within an anticipated interval of changeability = 0.0602 less than Fo less than fil = 0.0978 and does not significantly differ from the estimates of fe. The present value of differentiation of the population, Fo, corresponds to the selectively neutral equilibrium between the random drift of genes and migrations. The changeability of loci MNSs, Rhesus, Duffy has a selectively neutral character, whereas that of loci P, Lewis, Kell has an adaptive character. The genetic structure of the koryak population is, on the whole, under a great stabilizing pressure. The genetic differentiation is expressed as a time equivalent, T = 5818 years.

[Koryaks of Kamchatka. The genetic characteristics and formation of a gene pool]. / Koriaki Kamchatki. Gemeticheskaia kharakteristika i formirovanie genofonda.

Investigation of korak population of Kamchatka is carried out for 10 non-linked blood groups loci, serum proteins, PTC taste and ABH antigens secretion. The korak population enters in the system of Middle Asian mongoloids for the genetical characteristics studied. Koraks occupy an intermediate position between Siberian and Far East populations in their genetic pecularities, revealing the most close genetical similarity with Siberian population. The main contribution in the genofond of ancient korak athnic community is carried by neolytic inhabitants of Siberia.