HIGH GENETIC VARIATION IN Y CHROMOSOME PATTERNS OF THE Mocoví POPULATION

GLESMANN, LAURA ÁNGELA; MARTINA, PABLO FRANCISCO; MÉNDEZ, MARTA GRACIELA; CATANESI CECILIA INÉS

Revista del Museo de Antropología

Universidad Nacional de Córdoba

Lugar: Córdoba; Año: 2011 vol. 4 p. 179 - 186

1852-060X

In numerically small ethnic groups, the loss of genetic variability in the Y chromosome is frequent, because this genomic compartment is often subjected to selective sweeps. Despite its small size, the Mocoví population retains a significant amount of genetic variation in relation to other native communities, but their Y chromosome diversity is not known in depth. The aim of this study was to analyze the genetic variability of the Y chromosome, in a sample of Mocoví men from Santa Fe province (Argentina). We genotyped 11 short tandem repeats (STRs) and the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) M3 (rs3894). The diversity observed was high, and the 25 haplotypes obtained were compared to the YHRD database, with 13 of them absent of such database. A comparison with previous data from other Gran Chaco native groups showed significant differences between the Mocoví people and some communities of different ethnic origin. This and other studies of molecular markers of Mocoví people proves that this ethnic group retains a high genetic diversity that clearly differentiate them from other Amerindian communites.