[Analysis of distribution of "mongoloid" haplogroups of mitochondrial DNA among indigenous population of the Tuva Republic]. / Analiz rasprostranennosti "mongoloidnykh" gaplogrupp mitokhondrial'noi DNK sredi korennogo naseleniia Tuvy.

Variation of Mongoloid-specific restriction sites of mitochondrial genome was analyzed in three territorial groups of Tuvinians. Distribution of mitochondrial DNA haplogroups A, B, C, and D on the territory of the Tuva Republic was estimated. The populations studied did not display distinct differentiation in respect to the mtDNA polymorphism. The specific feature of Tuvinian mitochondrial gene pool was the prevalence of only one haplogroup C (over 40%), mainly represented by two mitotypes. The high frequency of this haplogroup makes Tuvinians similar to more northern Siberian populations. On the other hand, the presence of haplogroup B indicates that Tuvinians have affinity to ethnic groups of Central Asia.

[Polymorphism of immunological and biochemical marker genes in rural populations of the Tuva Republic]. / Polymorfizm immunologicheskikh i biokhimicheskikh markerov v sel'skikh populiatsiiakh Respubliki Tuva.

This article continues the series of publications on the population genetic structure of the Tuva Republic. The polymorphism of immunological (ABO, MN, and the Dd locus of Rhesus) and biochemical (TF, GC, HP, PGD, PGM1, ACP1, and ESD) marker systems was studied in three rural populations of the Tuva Republic: the Shinaanskii, Todzhinskii, and Bai-Taiginskii populations (the Kungurtug, Toora-Khem, and Teeli villages, respectively). Genetic subdivision of the populations and genetic distances between the Tuvinian populations and the populations of neighboring regions were estimated. Tuvinians were demonstrated to be genetically heterogeneous. Data on their population-genetic structure with respect to several classical marker systems agree with the results obtained for quasigenetic (family names) and molecular (mtDNA) markers. Prolonged isolation of individual populations in the republic promoted formation of specific patterns of gene frequencies in some of them. These patterns account for differences between Tuvinians and other populations belonging to the Altaic language family. Tuvinians in general are genetically closer to Mongolian populations inhabiting the regions bordering the Tuva Republic than to southern Altaians.

[Distribution of a deletion-insertion polymorphism in intergenic region V of mitochondrial DNA among the aboriginal population of Tuva]. / Rasprostranenie deletsionno-insertsionnogo polimorfizma V mezhgennogo raiona mitokhondrial'noi DNK sredi korennogo naseleniia Tuvy.

Mitochondrial DNA region V deletion-insertion polymorphism was examined in three Tuvinian populations inhabiting western, northeastern, and southeastern parts of the republic. The 9-bp deletion was characterized by nonrandom distribution across the Tuva territory: its frequency in the western population (13.37%) was statistically significantly higher than that in the northeastern (4.62%), and southeastern populations, as well as in Mongols, who are territorially and ethnically close to Tuvinians. The insertion mutation in the region V was detected with a frequency of about 3% in two out of the three populations tested.

[Restriction polymorphism of the major noncoding region of mtDNA in the indigenous population of the TUVA republic]. / Restriktsionnyi polimorfizm glavnogo nekodiruiushchego raiona mtDNK u korennogo naseleniia respubliki Tuva.

Mitochondrial DNA sequence variation was examined in three rural populations of the indigenous inhabitants from the Tuva Republic. The frequencies of restriction sites within the D-loop region of mtDNA were determined. The three populations studied demonstrated similar patterns of mtDNA polymorphism. Like other Siberian populations, Tuvinians were characterized by high frequencies of the HaeIII 16517 and AspS9I (Cfr13I) 16516 restriction sites (about 75%). Moreover, in Tuvinians, a relatively low (71 to 81%) frequency of the KpnI 16129 restriction site was observed. The frequency of the mitotype differing from the Cambridge sequence by the HaeIII 16517 and KpnI 16129 sites in Tuvinians was higher than in Mongols and Russians. The features of mtDNA polymorphism point to the similarity between Tuvinians and other Siberian ethnic groups (Sel'kups in particular). This can be explained by the contribution of the Samoyed component, along with the Turkic and Mongoloid ones, to the formation of the Tuvinian ethnic group.

[Genetic demographic characteristics of the rural population of the Tuva Republic: marriage structure and inbreeding]. / Genetiko-demograficheskaia kharakteristika sel'skogo naseleniia Respubliki Tuva: struktura brakov, inbriding.

Marriage structure was studied in three rural populations of the Tuva Republic: the Shinaan population and the populations of Todzhinskii and Bai-Taiginskii raions (districts). The Shinaan and Bai-Taiginskii populations had high levels of endogamy (0.6704 and 0.6050, respectively). In the Todzhinskii population, which was characterized by a mixed ethnic composition, endogamy was 0.3779 for the total population and 0.4626 for Tuvinians; interethnic marriages in this population were rare. The values of marriage assortativeness with respect to birthplace were 19.38, 40.75, 75.87, and 41.87% in the Shinaan, Bai-Taiginskii, all the Todzhinskii populations, and Tuvinian monoethnic marriages in the Todzhinskii raion, respectively. High marriage assortativeness with respect to ethnicity was found. Its values (A') were 91.85 and 93.49% in Tuvinians and Russians, respectively. Tuvinian populations were characterized by high inbreeding. The total (F(it)), random (Fst), and nonrandom inbreeding (Fis) estimated by isonymy were 0.004237, 0.002298, and 0.001944 in the Shinaan population, 0.007292, 0.009448, and -0.002177 in the Bai-Taiginskii population, and 0.003846, 0.004152, and -0.000307 in the Todzhinskii population, respectively (in the latter populations, the F(it), Fst, and Fis values for Tuvinian marriages alone were 0.005000, 0.007222, and -0.002238, respectively). The results obtained indicate that individual territorial groups of Tuvinians retain a high degree of genetic isolation from one another.

[Genetic-demographic characteristics of the rural population of the Republic of Tuva: reproductive indicators and the structure of Crow's indices]. / Genetiko-demograficheskaia kharakteristika sel'skogo naseleniia respubliki Tuva: reproduktivnye pokazateli, struktura indeksov Krou.

The age limits of the female reproductive function, vital statistics, and Crow's indices were estimated in populations of three districts of the Tuva Republic that were remote from one another. These were the Kyzyl (the Shinaan population), Todzhinskii, and Bai-Taiginskii raions. The monoethnic Shinaan population was characterized by the longest reproductive period (15.88 years) but the lowest average number of pregnancies throughout the reproductive period (5.77); childbirth was an outcome of 86.72% of pregnancies. In the Bai-Taiginskii population, which was also monoethnic but lived in an industrial area of Tuva, these parameters were 12.99 years, 7.06 pregnancies, and 81.97%, respectively. The Todzhinskii population, which was ethnically mixed, exhibited the shortest actual reproductive period (10.72 years) and the greatest average number of pregnancies throughout the reproductive period (7.29), with the proportion of pregnancies ending in childbirth as low as 48.30%. The indices of potential selection and their components related to differential mortality and differential fertility were the following: in the Shinaan population, Itot = 0.59, Im = 0.19, and I(f) = 0.34; in the Bai-Taiginskii population, Itot = 0.48, Im = 0.18, and I(f) = 0.26; and in the Todzhinskii population, Itot = 0.90, Im = 0.23, and I(f) = 0.55. Thus, reproductive parameters in the studied populations of the Tuva Republic were largely determined by the ethnic composition of the population and social factors.

[Genetic demographic characteristics of the rural population of the Tuva Republic: ethnic and tribal composition and sex and age structure]. / Genetiko-demograficheskaia kharakteristika sel'skogo naseleniia respubliki Tuva: natsional'nyi, rodoplemennoi sostav, polovozrastnaia struktura.

The ethnic, tribal, sex, and age composition was studied in populations of three districts of the Tuva Republic that were remote from one another. These were the Kyzylskii (the Shinaan population), Todzhinskii, and Bai-Taiginskii raions. The Todzhinskii population was characterized by a mixed ethnic composition dominated by Tuvinians and Russians (62.35 and 35.52%, respectively); the other two districts were only inhabited by Tuvinians. The studied populations differed from one another in the set and proportions of tribal groups--in the Todzhinskii raion, Turkic tribal groups were prevalent, whereas in the Shinaan and Bai-Taiginskii populations, many tribal groups of Mongolian origin were found. The estimations of relationship by isonymy indicated a considerable contribution of geographic isolation to the genetic differentiation of the populations: the estimated relationship between the highland Shinaan and Todzhinskii populations, which are difficult of access, was the minimum (Ri = 0.00262); the coefficients of the relationship by isonymy between the Shinaan and Bai-Taiginskii populations and between the Todzhinskii and Bai-Taiginskii populations were 0.00336 and 0.00483, respectively. All the studied populations were characterized by a "growing" age pyramid; however, the Bai-Taiginskii and Todzhinskii populations showed a tendency to narrowing its base. In addition, these two populations exhibited an unfavorable sex ratio at the reproductive age. The obtained results suggest that the Tuva population is genetically heterogeneous, which is accounted for by the tribal characteristics, the history of populations, and the geographic characteristics of the region.