Genetic Studies in South Balkan Populations

Within a study of the genetics of Balkan populations, four DNA-STR systems and 19 classical markers were examined in seven samples: Romanians (two groups), Albanians, Greeks and Aromuns (three groups). The results for the DNA-STR systems have been compared with data from the literature. The results show four clear separated groups: sub-Saharan black populations, North-African, Japanese and European populations. The large Balkan populations, except the Greek sample, are genetically more homogenous than the Aromun populations. A second Neighbor-joining tree based on all 23 analyzed systems, show a particular trend of the Aromun groups, which indicates a particular genetic structure.