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BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article
Front. Genet.
Sec. Evolutionary and Population Genetics
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fgene.2025.1516130
This article is part of the Research Topic Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy and Fine-Scale Structure of Human Populations, Volume II View all 3 articles
Genetic Genealogy of Y-chromosome in the Zhetiru Tribe of the Kazakh Population from Kazakhstan
Provisionally accepted
Aigul Zhunussova 1 Saltanat Tayshanova 1 Alizhan Bukayev 2 Ayagoz Bukayeva 2 Baglan Aidarov 2 Radik Temirgaliev 3,4 Zhaxylyk Sabitov 3,4
Maxat Zhabagin 2,5*- 1 Astana International University, Astana, Kazakhstan
- 2 National Center for Biotechnology, Astana, Kazakhstan
- 3 Kazak Historical Society, Astana, Kazakhstan
- 4 Research Institute for Jochi Ulus Studies, Astana, Kazakhstan
- 5 DNK Shejire LLP, Astana, Kazakhstan
The Y chromosome, transmitted exclusively through the paternal line, is a well-established tool for verifying genealogical data. The Kazakh tribe Zhetiru in Kazakhstan, comprising seven clans, has conflicting historical and genealogical narratives regarding its origin-either as a union of seven independent clans or as descendants of a single common ancestor. A detailed genetic investigation has not yet addressed this question.Methods: 350 male volunteers from the Zhetiru tribe were analyzed using 23 Y-STR loci and 17 Y-SNPs. We calculated genetic distances using Arlequin and STRAF, and explored genetic structure with median-joining networks using a comparative dataset of over 3,000 Kazakh individuals.Results: At the tribal level, haplotype diversity (0.997) and haplogroup diversity (0.91) are high. However, at the clan level, haplotypic diversity decreases, revealing clear founder effects in the main haplogroups of Kerderi (R1a1a), Kereit (N1a2), Tama (C2a1a3), and Teleu (J2a2). The genetic structures of Zhagalbaily, Ramadan, and Tabyn indicate additional sub-clan founders. The ages of key clusters suggest stable genetic lineages for over 1,000 years. Zhetiru clans do not form a distinct genetic cluster among Kazakh tribes but demonstrate genetic affinities with others.This study demonstrates the effective application of genetic genealogy approaches in verifying historical and genealogical records concerning the Zhetiru tribe and determining its origin from distinct, genetically independent clans.
Keywords: Y-chromosome, STR (short tandem repeat), Haplotype diversity, Genetic genealogy, Zhetiru tribe, Kazakh population, Population Genetics
Received: 23 Oct 2024; Accepted: 04 Mar 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhunussova, Tayshanova, Bukayev, Bukayeva, Aidarov, Temirgaliev, Sabitov and Zhabagin. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Maxat Zhabagin, National Center for Biotechnology, Astana, Kazakhstan
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