Molecular Genetic Analysis of Population Structure of the Great Zhuz Kazakh Tribal Union Based on Y-Chromosome Polymorphism

Historically, the Kazakhs formed through an amalgam of nomadic tribes that previously belonged to the Golden Horde. The Kazakh tribes were geographically divided into three tribal associations—the Great, the Middle, and the Lesser zhuzes. One of the unsolved problems in the Kazakhs’ ethnic history remains the issue of the genetic relationships between tribes composing the zhuzes. The aim of the current work was to study intertribal genetic relations in the Great zhuz. To achieve this goal, we investigated the biallelic polymorphisms of Y chromosome in the 12 tribes of the Great zhuz. Twenty-seven haplogroups of Y chromosome were identified. The comparative analysis of the haplogroup distribution revealed complexity of the Great zhuz gene pool. The results obtained suggest that the Great zhuz was formed by combining not only genetically related, but also quite remote, groups of tribes.