Maternal genetic structure of Iraqi Faili Kurds revealed using whole mitochondrial genome sequencing

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is a commonly utilized genetic marker in determining maternal ancestry because of the hypervariable regions in it, as well as haplogroups, which enable scientists to establish ancestral links among populations. This research involved the analysis of the complete mitochondrial genome of 100 Faili Kurd women in different cities in Iraq using the Illumina system. The most common haplogroups were HV14 (53%), H14a (16%), M37e2 (16%), and HV2a1*1 (15%). The pair-wise AMOVA-FST analysis in terms of population revealed that there were various levels of genetic differentiation between Faili Kurds and other populations in Iraq, Iran, and surrounding areas. The Qashqai population recorded the lowest genetic distance (FST = 0.2203), implying that this population is closely related in genetic terms. There was also low differentiation between Nassiriya-Iraq (FST = 0.1826), Assyrians (FST = 0.1764), Khuzestan (FST = 0.1623) and Tabriz (FST = 0.1590), which could represent shared ancestry or recent migration. Conversely, the higher FST values were found with Damascus, Syria (0.999) and Birjand, South Khorasan, Iran (0.999), whereas moderate differentiation was found with Hama, Syria (0.8381), Armenians (0.6973) and Ilam (0.6743). Such results underscore the regional affiliation and maternal genetic patterns among the Faili Kurds, supporting their long-standing presence in the Near East, and contribute to the broader body of human genetic diversity in the Middle East.

Text 126345.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (5MB) Official URL or Download Paper: https://bsj.uobaghdad.edu.iq/home/vol23/iss4/30

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