Highlights
- •966 samples tested from Central/Inner Asian) and Hungarian-speaking populations.
- •Possible genetic contribution from Altaic populations to Hungarians is 5–7.4%.
- •Present-day Hungarian speakers are genetically very similar to neighbouring populations, isolated Hungarian speaking groups having relatively higher presence of Central and Inner Asian genetic elements.
Abstract
Historically, the Carpathian Basin was the final destination for many nomadic peoples
who migrated westward from Inner and Central Asia towards Europe. Proto-Hungarians
(Steppe Magyars) were among those who came from the East, the Eurasian Steppe in the
early middle ages. In order to detect the paternal genetic contribution from nomadic
Steppe tribes, we tested 966 samples from Central Asian (Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan),
Inner Asian (Mongolians and Buryats in Mongolia) and Hungarian-speaking European (Hungarian,
Sekler and Csango) populations. We constructed median-joining networks of certain
haplogroups in Hungarian-speaking European, and Altaic-speaking Central and Inner
Asian populations. We estimated that the possible paternal genetic contribution from
the above described populations among contemporary Hungarian speaking populations
ranged between 5% and 7.4%. It is lowest among Hungarians from Hungary (5.1%), while
higher among Hungarian-speaking groups in Romania, notably Sekler (7.4%) and Csango
(6.3%). However, these results represent only an upper limit. Actual Central/Inner
Asian admixture might be somewhat lower as some of the related lineages may have come
from a common third source. The main haplogroups responsible for the Central/Inner
Asian admixture among Hungarians are J2*-M172 (xM47, M67, M12), J2-L24, R1a-Z93; Q-M242
and E-M78. Earlier studies showed very limited Uralic genetic influence among Hungarians,
and based on the present study, Altaic/Turkic genetic contribution is also not significant,
although significantly higher than the Uralic one. The conclusion of this study is
that present-day Hungarian speakers are genetically very similar to neighbouring populations,
isolated Hungarian speaking groups having relatively higher presence of Central and
Inner Asian genetic elements. At the same time, the reliable historical and genetic
conclusions require an extension of the study to a significantly larger database with
deep haplogroup resolution, including ancient DNA data.
Keywords
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Publication history
Published online: November 15, 2014
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© 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
