Конференция

http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1469-1809.2006.00330.x

The Gagauz, a Linguistic Enclave, are not a Genetic Isolate

Ivan Nasidze1,*, Dominique Quinque1, Irina Udina2, Svetlana Kunizheva2 and Mark Stoneking1
Summary

The Gagauz are a Turkic-speaking group that migrated from Turkey to their present location in the southern part of the Republic of Moldova about 150 years ago. Surrounded by Indo-European-speaking populations, they thus form a linguistic enclave, which raises the following question: to what extent have they remained in genetic isolation from their geographic neighbours? Analyses of mtDNA and Y chromosome variation indicate that despite their linguistic differences, the Gagauz have admixed extensively with neighbouring groups. Our data suggest that there has been more mtDNA than Y chromosome admixture, in keeping with the patrilocal nature of these groups. Moreover, when compared with another linguistic enclave, the Kalmyks there appears to be a correlation between the amount of genetic admixture and the amount of linguistic influence that these two linguistic enclaves have experienced from neighbouring groups.