Genetic studies on Serbs


Genetic studies on Serbs show close affinity to other neighboring South Slavs.

Y-DNA

al haplogroups identified among the Serbs from Serbia and near countries are the following with respective percentages: I2a, E1b1b, R1a, R1b, I1, J2b, J2a, J1, G2a, and several other uncommon haplogroups with lesser frequencies.
I2a-P37.2 is the most prevailing haplogroup, accounting for one-third of Serbians. It is represented by four sub-clusters I-PH908, I2a1b3-L621, I2-CTS10228 and I2-M223. Older research considered that the high frequency of this subclade in the South Slavic-speaking populations to be the result of a "pre-Slavic" paleolithic settlement in the region, the research by O.M. Utevska confirmed that the haplogroup STR haplotypes have the highest diversity in Ukraine, with ancestral STR marker result "DYS448=20" comprising "Dnieper-Carpathian" cluster, while younger derived result "DYS448=19" comprising the "Balkan cluster" which is predominant among the South Slavs. This "Balkan cluster" also has the highest variance in Ukraine, which indicates that the very high frequency in the Western Balkan is because of a founder effect. Utevska calculated that the STR cluster divergence and its secondary expansion from the middle reaches of the Dnieper river or from Eastern Carpathians towards the Balkan peninsula happened approximately 2,860 ± 730 years ago, relating it to the times before Slavs, but much after the decline of the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture. More specifically, the "Balkan cluster" is represented by a single SNP, I-PH908, known as I2a1a2b1a1a1c in ISOGG phylogenetic tree, and according to YFull YTree it formed and had TMRCA approximately 1,850-1,700 YBP. Although I-L621 it is dominant among the modern Slavic peoples on the territory of the former Balkan provinces of the Roman Empire, until now it was not found among the samples from the Roman period and is almost absent in contemporary population of Italy. It was found in the skeletal remains with artifacts, indicating leaders, of Hungarian conquerors of the Carpathian Basin from the 9th century, part of Western Eurasian-Slavic component of the Hungarians. According to Fóthi et al., the distribution of ancestral subclades like of I-CTS10228 among contemporary carriers indicates a rapid expansion from Southeastern Poland, is mainly related to the Slavs, and the "largest demographic explosion occurred in the Balkans".
E1b1b-M215 is the second most prevailing haplogroup amongst Serbs, accounting for nearly one-fifth of Serbians. It is represented by four sub-clusters E-V13, E1b1b-V22, and E1b1b-M123. In Southeast Europe, its frequency peaks at the southeastern edge of the region and its variance peaks in the region's southwest. Although its frequency is very high in Kosovar Albanians and Macedonian Romani, this phenomenon is of a focal rather than a clinal nature, most likely being a consequence of genetic drift. E-V13 is also high amongst Albanians in North Macedonia and Albanians in Albania, as well as ethnic Macedonians, Romanians, and Greeks. It is found at low to moderate frequencies in most Slavic populations. However, amongst South Slavs, it is quite common. It is found in 27% of Montenegrins, 22% of Macedonians, and 18% of Bulgarians, all Slavic peoples. Moderate frequencies of E-V13 are also found in Italy and western Anatolia. In most of Central Europe, it is found at low to moderate frequencies of 7-10%, in both R1a and R1b dominated populations. It likely originated in the Balkans, Greece, or the Carpathian Basin 9000 YBP or shortly before its arrival in Europe during the Neolithic. Its ancestral haplogroup, E1b1b1a-M78, is of northeast African origin.
R1a1-M17 accounts for about one-seventh to one-sixth of Serbian Y-chromosomes. It is represented by four sub-clusters R1a, R1a-M458, R1a-YP4278, and R1a-Y2613. Its frequency peaks in Ukraine. It is the most predominant haplogroup in the general Slavic paternal gene pool. The variance of R1a1 in the Balkans might have been enhanced by infiltrations of Indo-European speaking peoples between 2000 and 1000 BC, and by the Slavic migrations to the region in the early Middle Ages. A descendant lineage of R1a1-M17, R1a1a7-M458, has the highest frequency in Central and Southern Poland.
R1b1b2-M269 is moderately represented among Serbian males, 10% in Serbia, with subclade M269* 4.4% in Serbia, 5.1% in Macedonia, 7.9% in Kosovo. The highest frequency in the central Balkans. It has its frequency peak in Western Europe, but a high frequency is also found in Central Europe among the West Slavs and Hungarians as well as in the Caucasus among the Ossetians. It was introduced to Europe by farmers migrating from western Anatolia, probably about 7500 YBP. Serb bearers of this haplogroup are in the same cluster as Central and East European ones, as indicated by the frequency distributions of its sub-haplogroups with respect to total R-M269. The other two clusters comprise, respectively, West Europeans and a group of populations from Greece, Turkey, the Caucasus and the Circum-Uralic region.
J2b-M102 and J2a1b1-M92 have low frequencies among the Serbs. Various other lineages of haplogroup J2-M172 are found throughout the Balkans, all with low frequencies. Haplogroup J and all its descendants originated in the Middle East. It is proposed that the Balkan Mesolithic foragers, bearers of I-P37.2 and E-V13, adopted farming from the initial J2 agriculturalists who colonized the region about 7000 to 8000 YBP, transmitting the Neolithic cultural package.
I1-M253 is also found in low frequencies and is represented by three sub-clusters I1-P109, I1, and I1-Z63.
An analysis of molecular variance based on Y-chromosomal STRs showed that Slavs can be divided into two groups: one encompassing West Slavs, East Slavs, Slovenes, and western Croats, and the other – all remaining Southern Slavs. Croats from northern Croatia fell into the second group. This distinction could be explained by a genetic contribution of pre-Slavic Balkan populations to the genetic heritage of some South Slavs belonging to the group. Principal component analysis of Y-chromosomal haplogroup frequencies among the three ethnic groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbs, Croats, and Bosniaks, showed that Serbs and Bosniaks are genetically closer to each other than either of them is to Croats.

Tables

2000s

PopulationSamplesSourceE3b*E3b1GI1aI1b*I*I1cJ1J2*J2eJ2f*J2f1F*K*R1a1R1b
Serbs, B&H81Marjanović et al. 2.519.81.22.530.91.21.202.56.2004.97.413.66.2

PopulationSamplesSourceE*1b1b1E1b1b1a2G2a*I1*I2*I2a1*I2b1J1*J2a1kJ2b*J2b2N1R1a1*R1b1b2
Serbs, B&H81Battaglia et al. 2.519.81.22.52.534.61.21.22.53.72.56.213.66.2

2010s

PopulationSamplesSourceI2aR1aE1b1bI1GR1bJ2bJ2aJ1NQI2+otherunknown
Serbians103Reguiero et al. 29,120,418,57,85,87,82,9411,90100
Serbs, Aleksandrovac85Todorović et al. 35,2921,1715,294,7010,581,174,702,352,3501,17001,17

PopulationSamplesSourceI2aR1aE1b1bE1b1I1R1bJ2bJ2aJ1TG2a
Serbians257Scorrano et al. 4215124.51.564.54.54.54.51.5

PopulationSamplesSourceI2aE1b1bR1aI1R1bJ2bJ Other
Serbs 303Kačar et al. 36.618.214.97.654.95.96.9

mtDNA

According to Davidovic et al. study of Mitochondrial DNA in 139 samples in Serbia are present "mtDNA lineages predominantly found within the Slavic gene pool, supporting a common Slavic origin, but also lineages that may have originated within the southern Europe and the Balkan Peninsula in particular ". According to 2017 study on haplogroup U diversity "putative Balkan-specific lineages and lineages shared among Serbians and West and East Slavs were detected. The exceptional diversity of maternal lineages found in Serbians may be associated with the genetic impact of both autochthonous pre-Slavic Balkan populations whose mtDNA gene pool was affected by migrations of various populations over time and Slavic and Germanic newcomers in the early Middle Ages". The 2020 study of 226 samples mitochondrial genome data of Serbian population "supported more pronounced genetic differentiation among Serbians and two Slavic populations as well as expansion of the Serbian population after the Last Glacial Maximum and during the Migration period ".

Physical anthropology

According to Serbian physical anthropologist Živko Mikić, the medieval population of Serbia developed a phenotype that represented a mixture of Slavic and indigenous Balkan Dinaric traits. Mikić argues that the Dinaric traits, such as brachycephaly and a bigger average height, have been since then becoming predominant over the Slavic traits among Serbs.

Gallery