[Mitochondrial DNA variation in two Russian populations from Novgorod oblast]

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) polymorphism was examined in two Russian populations of Novgorod oblast, from the city of Velikii Novgorod (n = 81), and the settlement of Volot (n = 79). This analysis showed that the mitochondrial gene pool of Russians examined was represented by the mtDNA types belonging to 20 haplogroups and subhaplogroups distributed predominantly among the European populations. Haplogroups typical of the indigenous populations of Asia were found in the population sample from Velikii Novgorod with the average frequency of 3.7% (haplogroups A, Z, and D5), and with the frequency of 6.3% (haplogroups Z, D, and M*) in the Volot population. It was demonstrated that the frequency of the mitochondrial lineages combination, D5, Z, U5b-16144, and U8, typical of the Finnish-speaking populations of Northeastern Europe, was somewhat higher in the urban population (7.4%) compared to rural one (3.8%). The problem of genetic differentiation of Russians from Eastern Europe inferred from mtDNA data, is discussed.