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The aim of this article is to offer a concise interpretation of the scientific data about the topic of Croatian genetic heritage that was obtained over the past 10 years. We made a short overview of previously published articles by our and other groups, based mostly on Y-chromosome results. The data demonstrate that Croatian human population, as almost any other European population, represents remarkable genetic mixture. More than 3/4 of the contemporary Croatian men are most probably the offspring of Old Europeans who came here before and after the Last Glacial Maximum. The rest of the population is the offspring of the people who were arriving in this part of Europe through the southeastern route in the last 10,000 years, mostly during the neolithization process. We believe that the latest discoveries made with the techniques for whole-genome typing using the array technology, will help us understand the structure of Croatian population in more detail, as well as the aspects of its demographic history.

Aim: To determine the human Y-chromosome haplogroup backgrounds of intermediate-sized variant alleles displayed by short tandem repeat (STR) loci DYS392, DYS449, and DYS385, and to evaluate the potential of each intermediate variant to elucidate new phylogenetic substructure within the human Y-chromosome haplogroup tree., Methods: Molecular characterization of lineages was achieved using a combination of Y-chromosome haplogroup defining binary polymorphisms and up to 37 short tandem repeat loci. DNA sequencing and median-joining network analyses were used to evaluate Y-chromosome lineages displaying intermediate variant alleles., Results: We show that DYS392.2 occurs on a single haplogroup background, specifically I1*-M253, and likely represents a new phylogenetic subdivision in this European haplogroup. Intermediate variants DYS449.2 and DYS385.2 both occur on multiple haplogroup backgrounds, and when evaluated within specific haplogroup contexts, delineate new phylogenetic substructure, with DYS449.2 being informative within haplogroup A-P97 and DYS385.2 in haplogroups D-M145, E1b1a-M2, and R1b*-M343. Sequence analysis of variant alleles observed within the various haplogroup backgrounds showed that the nature of the intermediate variant differed, confirming the mutations arose independently., Conclusions: Y-chromosome short tandem repeat intermediate variant alleles, while relatively rare, typically occur on multiple haplogroup backgrounds. This distribution indicates that such mutations arise at a rate generally intermediate to those of binary markers and STR loci. As a result, intermediate-sized Y-STR variants can reveal phylogenetic substructure within the Y-chromosome phylogeny not currently detected by either binary or Y-STR markers alone, but only when such variants are evaluated within a haplogroup context.

Aim: To determine the human Y-chromosome haplogroup backgrounds of non-consensus DYS458.2 short tandem repeat alleles and evaluate their phylogenetic substructure and frequency in representative samples from the Middle East, Europe, and Pakistan., Methods: Molecular characterization of lineages was achieved using a combination of Y-chromosome haplogroup defining binary polymorphisms and up to 37 short tandem repeat loci, including DYS388 to construct haplotypes. DNA sequencing of the DYS458 locus and median-joining network analyses were used to evaluate Y-chromosome lineages displaying the DYS458.2 motif., Results: We showed that the DYS458.2 allelic innovation arose independently on at least two distinctive binary haplogroup backgrounds and possibly a third as well. The partial allele length pattern was fixed in all haplogroup J1 chromosomes examined, including its known rare sub-haplogroups. Within the alternative R1b3 associated M405 defined sub-haplogroup, both DYS458.0 and DYS458.2 allele classes occurred. A single chromosome also allocated to the R1b3-M269*(xM405) classification. The physical position of the partial insertion/deletion occurrence within the normal tetramer tract differed distinctly in each haplogroup context., Conclusions: While unusual DYS458.2 alleles are informative, additional information for other linked polymorphic loci is required when using such non-conforming alleles to infer haplogroup background and common ancestry.