Genetic connections among Turkic‐speaking Iranian ethnic groups based on HLA class II gene diversity

Abstract

Iran is a linguistically heterogeneous nation where Persian, Turkic and Arabic are the three main language families spoken. Based on their linguistic properties, Qashqais, Turkmens and Azeris are Turkic-speaking people. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether any genetic relationship exists among the Turkic-speaking Iranian subpopulations based on HLA class II gene diversity. HLA-DRB1, DQA1 and DQB1 alleles were identified by PCR-based methods in 100 Qashqais and 66 Turkmens, and the results were compared with our previously published HLA data for Azeris. Despite a number of allelic and haplotypic similarities, Qashqais, Turkmens and Azeris were not in the same clade of the phylogenetic tree. However, based on the results of principal coordinates analysis, they are grouped together with Kurds and Bakhtiaris. Contrary to their common linguistic features, the Turkic-speaking people of Iran are closer to other Iranian subpopulations than to the people of Turkey and central Asia. Overall, it seems that linguistic criteria alone are not able to determine the relationships among these populations, and a combination of different kinds of anthropological information should be used to determine their actual phylogenetic relationships.

The Royan Public Umbilical Cord Blood Bank: Does It Cover All Ethnic Groups in Iran Based on HLA Diversity?

“…Although the results of HLA typing of UCB samples from the Royan Public CBB showed that the most frequent HLA alleles were similar to those in reports from different parts of Iran [18,19], the results of PCA revealed that the Royan Public UCB samples were closest to those of the Pars and Zoroastrian groups, and relatively far from those of other ethnic groups in Iran.…”

“…To determine the genetic relationship among UCB samples from the Royan Public CBB and 884 unrelated healthy samples from 13 ethnic groups in Iran [18,19], principal component analysis (PCA) was done with MVSP v. 3.1 software [20] using Nei's genetic distances (D A ) based on HLA-DRB1 allele frequencies, calculated with DISPAN software [21]. …”

Iranome: A catalog of genomic variations in the Iranian population

“…The geographical separation and different historical origins of these ethnic groups play a significant role not only in building specific languages, cultures and life styles but possibly also has a bearing on their varied genetic background. However, some reports claim that common genetic roots of the ethnicities present in Iran are not changed significantly by encounters with other races throughout history (Farjadian & Safi, 2013). As the objective of the Iranome project was to develop a population-specific framework of genomic variations, providing a good resource for classifying these differences and producing reasonable national health care plans, we decided to include 100 individuals from each of the following ethnic groups: Arabs, Azeris, Baluchs, Kurds, Lurs, Persians, Turkmen, and also Persian Gulf Islanders (Figure 1b).…”

Association study between two polymorphisms of tumor necrosis factor ligand superfamily member 15 (TNFSF15) gene and ulcerative colitis in south‐west of Iran

“…UC is a genetically and clinically heterogeneous group of disorders and millions of minorities from various ethnic, religious, and linguistic backgrounds also reside in Iran. So, these contradictory results can be due to the ethnic dependency of this study . Another reason for this discrepancy could be due to the small number of subjects in the present study.…”

“…Iran is one of the largest and most populated countries in the Middle East. It is a country with diverse ethnicities, among these groups are ethnic Fars, Turks, Lurs, Balouch, Azeri, Bakhtiari, Zoroastrian, Arabs, and Kurds . In UC patients, the colon is influenced by the excess and inappropriate responses of the immune system and limited inflammation to the colon .…”