[Ethnic genetics: relation between adaptive and neutral genetic differentiation of an ethnos]

It is very important to be able to distinguish between selectively significant genetic variability and selectively-neutral one for quantitative analysis of genetic differentiation in human (and any other) populations. The key to the problem is to determine a start-point for detection of neutral genetic variability, which will help to establish alignment of adaptive and neutral forces operating in genetic differentiation. The purpose of this work is to adduce proofs in favour of mean Fst value for a sample of gene loci as of the start-point for measuring neutrality level of genetic differentiation. These proofs came from various demographic and onomastic characteristics of ethnic groups as well as from genetic chronology of ethnic history which is in good concordance with actual historical chronology of ethnic groups. Once the start-point for testing neutrality is determined, it becomes possible to reveal the selective pressure to which various human genes are undergone and to elucidate adaptive structure of mankind's genetic pool. It was shown that only 15 alleles from 49 belonging to 20 polymorphic loci can be considered selectively neutral.