Mitochondrial control region sequence variations in the Hungarian population: Analysis of population samples from Hungary and from Transylvania (Romania)

Abstract 

To assess the mitochondrial DNA polymorphisms of the Hungarian population in the Carpathian basin and to facilitate forensic mtDNA testing a collection of control region sequences were generated from two population samples from Hungary and from two Hungarian speaking populations from Transylvania (Romania). Entire control region sequencing was performed by an automated laboratory process and data export without any manual transcription. The random match probability and pairwise comparisons within and between the datasets is reported. This study highlights the importance of considering population structure when generating reference databases for forensic testing. Comparisons between our population samples indicate the need for heightened caution when sampling, and using mtDNA databases of small endogamous populations. The population data will be incorporated in the EMPOP database (www.empop.org).

Keywords: Hungarian population, Romanian population, Control region, AMOVA, mtDNA database