Genetic landscape of the Hvar Island - highlight of a 50-year long bioanthropological research

Abstract

The paper presents an overview of the 50-year long bioanthropological research of the Hvar islanders and depicts the maternal and paternal genetic landscape of the Hvar population (mtDNA and NRY lineages) in more detail. MtDNA haplogroups were determined in 169 and NRY haplogroups in 407 autochthonous individuals from the Hvar Island. The relatively high level of diversity of mtDNA and NRY lineages has been observed, however with interesting deviations from both the maternal (F1b1 lineage) and paternal (Q2a1a lineage) perspective. Additionally, population substructuring revealed differences between Hvar communities (east-west substructuring), in line with the ethnohistoric background and observed migration patterns on the island. Genetic analysis of the Hvar islanders presents a highlight of the 50-year long anthropological research on this island and offers insight into the current genetic structure of Dalmatia, Croatia, shaped by dynamic and diverse population movements throughout history.