engleski

From history and demography to linguistics and DNA: Holistic approach in the population structure analysis

It is known that the formation of the population structure is a continuos process which results from the constant interaction of instrinsic population characteristics (its gene pool) and a wide spectrum of extrinsic influences. Some of the extrinsic influences that have the greatest importance in that interaction are cultural, economical, medical, political, religious, social, and many others. Usually, in our efforts to asses the present structure of some population of interest, we intend to find parameters that could provide satisfactory insight in a degree of populational (micro)differentiation under various intrinsic and extrinsic influences through time. Therefore, in order to obtain the best possible insight into determinants and characteristics of population's (micro)evolution, a holistic approach to the analysis of population structure is essential in this study, various measures of biological distances (anthropometrical body and head distances, physiological, dermatoglyphic and radiogrammetric bone distances), socio-cultural (linguistic - basic and cultural vocabulary), bio-cultural (migrational kinship estimated for four periods in history and kinship estimated from isonymy) and genetic distances (estimated separately from isonymy, erythrocyte antigens and HLA DNA variations) between inhabitants of nine villages of the island of Hvar, Croatia were calculated. Correlation's between a total of 21 distance matrices were analysed using Mantel's test of matrix correspondence. The model -bound (Malecot's isolation by distance) and the model-free approach (factor analysis of the structure of correlation matrices among different distance measures) were applied. The traits that revealed good regressions in the isolation by distance model were migrational kinship for the period 1892-1913 (R=0.56), anthropometric body and head distances in males (R=0.63 and R=0.49, respectively) and females (R= 0.49 and R=00.33), as well as genetic distances determined from isonymy, physiological, radiogrammetric bone distances and distances in quantitative dermatoglyphic traits revealed very poor "fit" to the model (R=00.00). Factor analysis was performed over obtained correlation matrix, explaining 73.6% of total variance (TV). Extracted components were those of "Geographic distance and anthropometric body and head distances" (35.0% of TV). "Geographic distance, kinship and linguistic distances" (20.1% of TV). "Genetic distances, physiological, radiogrammetric bone and dermatoglyphic distances" (11.0% of TV) and "Kinship estimated from isonymy" (7.6% of TV). The combined use of model-bound and model-free approach in the holistic study of population structure provides an insight in the dependence of the rate of (micro)evolutionary processes upon the historical processes that favoured or restricted gene flow, especially in results of different processes of homogenization and/or selective inertia and their impact at the strictly biological, bio-cultural and socio-cultural traits in the formation of population structure.

holistic approach; population structure analysis; population genetics; anthropology

nije evidentirano