Reconstructing the genetic structure of the Kazakh from clan distribution data

Abstract

Applying quasigenetic markers - non-biological traits which are nevertheless inherited in generations - is one of the research fields within human population genetics. For the West European, East European, and Caucasus populations, surnames are typical quasigenetic markers. For Central Asian populations, particularly Kazakh, the clan affiliation serves as a good marker: a set of papers demonstrated that many clans include mainly persons which biologically descent from a recent common ancestor. In this study, we analyzed a large (~4.2 million persons) dataset on quasigenetic markers - the geographic distribution of 50 Kazakh clans at the beginning of the 20th century, and compared the dataset with the direct data of the Y-chro-mosomal diversity in modern Kazakh populations. The analysis included three steps: the isonymy method, which is standard for quasigenetic markers, comparing frequencies of quasigenetic markers, and comparing the quasigenetic and genetic datasets. We constructed 50 maps of frequency of the distribution of each clan and revealed that these maps correlate with the maps of genetic distances. The Mantel test also demonstrated a significant correlation between geographic and quasigenetic distances (г = 0.60; p < 0.05). The analysis of inter-population variability revealed the largest diversity between geographic territories corresponding to the social-territorial groups of the Kazakh Khanate (zhuzes) rather than to other historical groups that existed on the territory of Kazakhstan in preceding and modern epochs. The same is evidenced by the principal components and multidimensional scaling plots, which grouped geographic populations into three clusters corresponding to three zhuzes. This indicates that the final structuring of the Kazakh gene pool might have occurred during the Kazakh Khanate period.

Genetic polymorphism of Y-chromosome in Kazakh populations from Southern Kazakhstan

“…The ancestral haplogroup R1a1a-M198 was found with high frequency in the Shanyshkyly (24%) and Oshakty clans (20%) [ 19 ]. Both clans are found in the Turkestan area [ 28 ], which has the highest frequency of this haplogroup—8.9% in our research. In the same Turkestan area, the fraternal haplogroup R1b1a1a1-M478 shows a significant frequency—5.9% among Kazakhs.…”

“…Ysty, on the other hand, has a 74% founder effect inside J1 [ 19 ]. This genus is found in the Zhambyl area [ 28 ], where it is most common (J1—13.8%) in this research.…”

“…It occurs in the study sample mainly in the Turkestan region (20%). The Konyrat clan has established itself in this area [ 28 ]. They are characterized by a significant founder effect within the subbranch C2b1a1a1a-M407 (86%) [ 19 ].…”

Genetic Relationship Among the Kazakh People Based on Y-STR Markers Reveals Evidence of Genetic Variation Among Tribes and Zhuz

“…The results of the AMOVA and Mantel tests in our study confirmed that there is significantly less genetic variation among zhuzes than expected under a hierarchical model of genetic structure. This suggests that the zhuz structure is not the primary influence on genetic relationships among Kazakh tribes, and that the division into zhuzes was conditional rather than socio-territorial as suggested by other authors (Ashirbekov et al, 2018;Zhabagin et al, 2018). Nevertheless, approximately, 10% of the genetic variation among individuals was accounted for by variation among zhuzes.…”

Analysis of Clan Structure of Tuvans by Y-Chromosome Markers

“…In this type of analysis, three matrices were calculated: (1) a matrix of genetic distances between the kozhuun (territorial units of Tuva); (2) a matrix of geo- (3) a quasi-genetic distance matrix (tribal structure). When calculating the matrix of quasigenetic distances, each clan is traditionally considered as an analog of one allele of the neutral multiallelic locus (quasigenetic marker) [20]. A correlation analysis of these three matrices convincingly showed that the correlation between genetics and the tribal structure is large and reliable (r = 0.50; P < 0.05), while the correlation between genetics and geography is two times smaller and unreliable (average r = 0.25; P > 0.05).…”