The ancient Yakuts: a population genetic enigma

Area of Science:

• Paleogenetics
• Archaeogenetics
• Siberian Studies

Background:

• Investigating the ethnogenesis of the Yakut people, an eastern Siberian group.
• Utilizing 10 years of archaeological data from Central Yakutia, Vilyuy River basin, and Verkhoyansk area.
• Analyzing skeletal remains from 130 individuals (15th-19th century AD) of unknown ancestry.

Observation:

• Conducted kinship studies using autosomal and Y-chromosomal short tandem repeats (STRs) and mitochondrial DNA.
• Observed discrepancies between autosomal DNA analyses and uniparental marker systems (mtDNA, Y-STR).
• Identified instances of false-positive relationships in kinship assessments.

Findings:

• Fifteen autosomal STR loci were insufficient to differentiate first-degree relatives from more distantly related individuals in the ancient Yakut sample.
• Y-STR analyses demonstrated limited resolution for determining paternal lineages.
• Uniparental marker systems did not consistently corroborate autosomal DNA findings.

Implications:

• Highlights the challenges in ancient DNA kinship studies with limited genetic markers.
• Suggests the need for more comprehensive genetic markers or methodologies for accurate ancient relationship inference.
• Informs future research on Yakut ethnogenesis and population genetics in Siberia.