[Restriction-deletion polymorphism of mitochondrial DNA region V in some populations of aboriginal residents of Siberia and the Far East]

Abstract

The distribution of a deletion and of an Ava II site in region V of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) was studied in five populations of native inhabitants of the Asian part of Russia, including Chukchi, Asian Eskimos, Evenks, Buryats, and Northern Sel'kups. A deletion with a frequency of 6.3% was found only in Buryats, In Chukchi and Eskimos the AvaII site was not found. A maximal frequency of 11.3% was observed in the Evenks. A comparison with published data was conducted; it revealed a gradient of decreasing frequency of the deletion from Southeast Asia to the North, with its complete absence in the circumpolar regions. In the territory of northeast Asia, all three mitotypes are found, formed by a combination of two polymorphic markers of mtDNA region V, which were found earlier in humans in the New World. The data obtained necessitates a more detailed analysis of the population polymorphism of mtDNA in this region of Asia.