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The VNTR loci D7S104, D11S129, D18S17, D20S15, and D21S112 in three indigenous Siberian populations were analyzed to determine the populations' genetic structure. Using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, we found that the Siberian indigenous populations of Surinda and Sulamai are separated at the D11S129 locus (p < 0.05). However, the population of Poligus is genetically homogeneous compared with the villages of Sulamai and Surinda. Principal component plots for the sets of VNTR loci cluster the Siberian groups together, reflecting the homogeneity of these populations. An analysis of mean per locus heterozygosity versus the distance from the centroid of distribution suggests gene flow into Sulamai but little genetic exchange with Surinda and Poligus. Ultimately, the VNTR data reflect the genetic distinctiveness of the Kets and the Evenki., Over the past five years frequency distributions of variable-number tandem repeats (VNTRs) have been used to discriminate between ethnically defined populations (Chakraborty et al. 1992; Deka et al. 1992; Balazs [...]

For decades, researchers have analyzed biological data to try and understand the genetic relationships between Asian and Native American populations, in particular, to model the initial peopling of the New World. These studies have suggested that between one to several migrations from Asia are responsible for the biological, cultural and linguistic diversity observed in past and present Native American populations, depending on the data set employed in the study. They have also revealed a general division between northern and southern Asian populations that suggests that Asia and Siberia were colonized through multiple population expansions. The abundance of new mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) data from both Asian and Native American populations allowed us to reexamine questions about their origins and affinities through the statistical and phylogenetic analyses of these mtDNA data. Our results suggest certain regions of northern Asia as being more probably source areas for ancestral Native Americans, show regional patterns of genetic diversity in Siberia, and generally imply that both Asia and the Americas have undergone a complex settlement process.

Analyses of mtDNA diversity in indigenous Siberian peoples have illuminated much about their population histories. Recent work has shown considerable genetic diversity in southeastern Siberians and the genetic influence of Turkic speaking groups on them, while other studies have elucidated the genetic prehistory of northeastern Siberian groups. However, there are fewer genetic data for central Siberian populations such as the Kets, Sel'kups, and Altayans, leaving their genetic histories and relationships to other Siberian populations to be clarified. To address these issues, we reanalyzed the mtDNAs from several Central Siberian populations (Kets, Sel'kups, Altayans) that did not belong to haplogroups A-D to determine their possible affinities with East Asian and West Eurasian haplogroups. Overall, these populations lacked most West Eurasian haplogroups, including I, J, K, T, V, W, and X. However, the Altayans, Kets and Sel'kups all had haplogroup H and U mtDNAs at significant frequencies, with these haplogroups comprising 32.5%, 43.5%, and 65.0% of their mtDNAs, respectively. In fact, four different subclusters of haplogroup U were present in these populations, including U1, U2, U4 and U5, with the Kets having the greatest diversity of these haplotypes. Thus, central Siberian populations appeared to have significant frequencies of both West Eurasian and Asian mtDNAs as part of their overall genetic composition. Overall, West Eurasian haplogroups appear in a decreasing west-to-east gradient in Siberian populations, while East Asian haplogroups have the opposite distribution. The implications of this pattern of genetic diversity for reconstructing the peopling of the Siberia are explored.