A reference data base on STR allele frequencies in the Belarus population developed from paternity cases.

The study considers data on 15 STR-loci from paternity cases across Belarus districts from 2004 to the beginning of 2006 (set #1, 580 individuals) and since that to the beginning of 2007 (set #2, 530 individuals); the data majorly consist of ethnic Belarusians. No significant difference was found between the sets, as well as between the country districts in which the cases occurred. The allele frequencies obtained are very similar to those based on population survey at common loci. Therefore, a data base can be constructed of data from wide survey on paternity cases. Pooling the sets together provides a reference data base on the Belarus population. Additionally, we compared the allele profiles to those in other Slavic groups from the former USSR: Russians from Moscow and eastern Ukrainians from Kharkov city.

A comprehensive population survey on the distribution of STR frequencies in Belarus.

This work develops a detailed STR database from 11 population samples and samples from paternity analyses from different districts of Belarus. The combined data on 2020 individuals form a total database for the country, with the exclusion power of 99.987% based on 11 STR loci. Possible differentiation in allele frequencies between population samples, small in terms of F-statistics and undetectable by standard statistical tests, is discussed.

Mitochondrial phylogeography of moose (Alces alces): late pleistocene divergence and population expansion.

We examined phylogeographic relationships of moose (Alces alces) worldwide to test the proposed existence of two geographic races and to infer the timing and extent of demographic processes underpinning the expansion of this species across the Northern Hemisphere in the late Pleistocene. Sequence variation within the left hypervariable domain of the control region occurred at low or moderate levels worldwide and was structured geographically. Partitioning of genetic variance among regions indicated that isolation by distance was the primary agent for differentiation of moose populations but does not support the existence of distinct eastern and western races. Levels of genetic variation and structure of phylogenetic trees identify Asia as the origin of all extant mitochondrial lineages. A recent coalescence is indicated, with the most recent common ancestor dating to the last ice age. Moose have undergone two episodes of population expansion, likely corresponding to the final interstade of the most recent ice age and the onset of the current interglacial. Timing of expansion for the population in the Yakutia--Manchuria region of eastern Asia indicates that it is one of the oldest populations of moose and may represent the source of founders of extant populations in North America, which were colonized within the last 15,000 years. Our data suggest an extended period of low population size or a severe bottleneck prior to the divergence and expansion of extant lineages and a recent, less-severe bottleneck among European lineages. Climate change during the last ice age, acting through contraction and expansion of moose habitat and the flooding of the Bering land bridge, undoubtedly was a key factor influencing the divergence and expansion of moose populations.