engleski

The Genetic Canvas of European Roma

According to linguistic evidence, the Indian exodus of the ancestors of the European Roma took place most probably around the end of the first millennium. By 13th - 15th centuries, different groups of Roma had spread throughout Europe. Virtual lack of written records prior to their arrival to Europe has left us with scarce knowledge about their historical migratory routes. Therefore, valuable insight may come from archaeogenetic studies. Here we report the results of a combined mtDNA, NRY and autosomal study of the genetic variation of Roma (Gypsies). We have studied variation of close to 600 Roma mtDNAs from six European countries, including 60 complete mitochondrial genomes from various populations of European Roma, India and the Near East. The most common Indian-specific maternal lineage among Roma is M5a1b1. Reaching from 5% to 35% in different Roma communities, it is, at the same time, present in various linguistically, socially and geographically different populations of India. The analysis of complete mitochondrial genomes shows that U3b1 and X2e1 lineages found in Roma have their closest relatives in the Near East and X2d1 lineages in the Caucasus, suggesting that at least a part of their West Eurasian-specific matrilineages has been picked up by the Roma en route before reaching Europe. We have analyzed over 250 Y-chromosomes from different Roma communities for their Y-STR and Y-SNP variation. Our results confirm previous studies, identifying NRY hg H1a as a clear sign of the Indian-specific contribution within the Y-chromosomal pool of Roma. Whole genome analysis of Roma, carried out using Illumina BeadArrays in the context of Eurasian and North African populations, revealed that Roma individuals exhibit varied levels of shared South Asian - West Eurasian ancestry. Taken together, our mtDNA, Y-chromosomal and GW analysis of European Roma populations in the context of Indian, Middle Eastern and European populations offers new insights into the demographic history of Roma populations.

Roma (Gypsies) ; mitochondrial DNA ; y-chromosome

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