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Holistic approach in the study of population structure based on the analysis of HLA-DRB1, DRB3, DRB4, DRB5, DQA1, DQB1 Polymorphisms (Island of Krk, Croatia)

The population structure of six rural communities of the northern Adriatic island of Krk, Croatia, was studied utilising PCR methodology and non-radioactive oligonucleotide hybridisation for the analysis of HLA-DRB1, DRB3, DRB4, DQA1, DQB1 polymorphism. Allele frequencies, measures of genetic kinship (R matrix) and genetic distances (E2) were computed, after which a model-free approach (distance matrix correlations) was employed. The studied rural populations revealed high levels of reproductive isolation (endogamy rate of 84.19) and clusterisation into three groups, the explanation of which can be found in known ethnohistorical events (3 migrational waves) and the results of current linguistic distance analyses (HMS range of 0.305 to 0.894). Quadratic assignment procedures indicated highly statistically significant and positive correlations of matrices (genetic vs. geographic distances, r=0.8048 ; genetic distances vs. migrational kinship, r=0.7556 ; genetic vs. linguistic distances, r=0.8577 ; geographic distances vs. migrational kinship, r=0.6388). The results indicate ethno-historical and socio-cultural events, rather than geographical distances, to be the primary determinants of anthropogenetic structure of the studied island population groups. The contribution of HLA polymorphisms analysis to holistic anthropological apprehension of human (micro)evolutionary processes in contemporary European populations is discussed.

HLA polymorphisms; population structure; island of Krk; population genetics; anthropology

DOI: 10.1016/0198-8859(96)85465-6