Polymorphism of Y-chromosome microsatellite loci in the Crimean Karaites and Crimean Tatars

Abstract

Relevance. The Crimean Karaites-Turks (Karays, Qarays) are a small indigenous people of the Crimea, which is on the verge of extinction. The question of their origin has long been the subject of discussions at the intersection of history, anthropology, ethnography, cultural studies, linguistics, religious studies, and genetics. Comparative population genetic studies are one of the most powerful and objective tools to answer this question.

Methods. The genetic polymorphism of the Crimean Karaites has been insufficiently studied. To fill this gap, the present work involved the genotyping according to 23 polymorphic microsatellite loci of the human Y-chromosome of 45 male samples: the Crimean Karaites, Crimean Tatars of the mountain subethnic group, and the Slavs (for all samples ethnicity was characterized by paternal lineage).

Results. In total, for the 26 Crimean Karaites and 14 Crimean Tatars studied, 34 unique haplotypes were identified, which correspond to 13 different haplogroups: G2a, J2a, R1a, L, T, E1b1b, I2a, I2c, J1, J2b, Q, R1b, N. The established genetic profiles were compared in detail with each other and with the closest haplotypes available in the open international YHRD database. The results obtained testify to the genetic closeness and unity of the origin of the two Turkic peoples, the Crimean Tatars and the Crimean Karaites.