Genetic studies on Serbs

Genetic studies on Serbs show close affinity to the neighbouring peoples of the Balkans, especially to other South Slavs.

Y-DNA

2005 studies

The haplogroup nomenclature follows the YCC 2008 system. See Conversion table for Y chromosome haplogroups for comparison with the nomenclature used in pre-2008 sources.

Y-chromosomal haplogroups identified among the Serbs from Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina are the following:

• I2a-P37.2, with frequencies of 29.20% and 30.90%, respectively. The frequency of this haplogroup peaks in Herzegovina (64%), while its variance peaks over a large geographic area covering B-H, Serbia, Hungary, Czech Republic, and Slovakia. It is the second most predominant Y-chromosomal haplogroup in the overall Slavic gene pool.
• E1b1b1a2-V13, 20.4% and 19.80%. In Southeast Europe, the frequency of this haplogroup peaks at the region's southeastern edge and its variance peaks in the southwest of the region. Its high frequency among Kosovo Albanians (46%) is most likely a consequence of genetic drift.
• R1a1-M17, 15.93% and 13.60%. The frequency of this haplogroup peaks in Poland (56.4%), followed by Ukraine (54.0%), and is the most predominant Y-chromosomal haplogroup in the overall Slavic gene pool.
• R1b1b2-M269, 10.62 and 6.20%. Its frequency peaks in Western Europe (90% in Wales).
• K*-M9, 7.08% and 7.40%.
• J2b-M102, 4.40% and 6.20%.
• I1-M253, 5.31% and 2.5%.
• F*-M89, 4.9%, only in B-H.
• J2a1b1-M92, 2.70%, only in Serbia.

There are also several other uncommon haplogroups with lesser frequencies.

Y-chromosomal haplogroups identified among the Serbs from Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina are the following: I2a-P37.2 (with frequencies of 29.20 and 30.90%, respectively), E1b1b1a2-V13 (20.35 and 19.80%), R1a1-M17 (15.93 and 13.60%), R1b1b2-M269 (10.62 and 6.20%), K*-M9 (7.08 and 7.40%), J2b-M102 (4.40 and 6.20%), I1-M253 (5.31 and 2.5%), F*-M89 (4.9%, only in B-H), J2a1b1-M92 (2.70%, only in Serbia), and several other uncommon haplogroups with lesser frequencies.

I2a-P37.2 is the most prevailing haplogroup, accounting for nearly one-third of Serbian Y-chromosomes. Its frequency peaks in Herzegovina (64%), and its variance peaks over a large geographic area covering B-H, Serbia, Hungaria, Czech Republic, and Slovakia. Geneticists estimate that I2a-P37.2 originated some 10,000 years before present (ybp) in the Balkans, from where it began to expand to Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe about 7000 ybp. It is the second most predominant Y-chromosomal haplogroup in the overall Slavic gene pool. Slavic migrations to the Balkans in the early Middle Ages contributed to the frequency and variance of I2a-P37.2 in the region.

E1b1b1a2-V13 is the second most prevailing haplogroup, accounting for one-fifth of Serbian Y chromosomes. 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 Kosovo Albanians (46%) and Macedonian Romani (30%), this phenomenon is of a focal rather than a clinal nature, most likely being a consequence of genetic drift. This haplogroup is also high among Albanians in Macedonia (34%) and Albania (24%), as well as Macedonian Slavs, and Greeks. It is rare among other Slavs, and moderate frequencies of it are found in southern Italy and Anatolia. E-V13 probably originated in the southern Balkans about 9000 ybp. Its ancestral haplogroup, E1b1b1a-M78, could be of a northeast African origin.

R1a1-M17 accounts for about one-seventh to one-sixth of Serbian Y-chromosomes. Its frequency peaks in Poland (56.4%) and Ukraine (54.0%), and its variance peaks in northern Bosnia. 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, which has the highest frequency in central and southern Poland (30%, more than half of total R1a1 there), is also observed among East Slavic and Finno-Ugric peoples, but it is very rare among South Slavs, including Serbs.

R1b1b2-M269 is moderately represented among the Serb males (6–10%). It has its frequency peak in Western Europe (90% in Wales), but a high frequency is also found in the Caucasus among the Ossetians (43%). 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 (6–7% combined). 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.

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 encompassing Bulgarians, Macedonian Slavs, Serbs, Bosniaks, and southern Croats. This distinction could be explained by a genetic contribution of pre-Slavic Balkan populations to the genetic heritage of 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 Bosniacs, showed that Serbs and Bosniacs are genetically closer to each other than either of them is to Croats.

2012 studies

A total of 103 Serbian individuals were sampled in 2012, and the majority of Serbian Y-chromosomes (58%) belonged to pre-Neolithic lineages.

Autosomal DNA studies

Analyses of autosomal DNA markers gives the best approximation of overall 'relatedness' between populations, presenting a less skewed genetic picture compared to Y DNA haplogroups. Most South Slavs are separated from the rest of the Slavic populations and form a sparse group of populations with internal differentiation. The autosomal results exemplify genetic affinity between Western Balkan populations that form a bridge between East and Central-European Slavic speakers and populations from Eastern Balkan and the Middle East. The Croatians, Slovenes and Bosnians are more close to East European populations and largely overlap with Hungarians from Central Europe, while Macedonians and Bulgarians cluster closer to Romanians, and to some extent, to Greeks. The Kosovars have the biggest similarity to Greeks and Albanians, while Serbians and Montenegrins have an intermediate position among other Western and Eastern Balkan populations. The specific genetic substrata in the genomes of the South Slavs, would imply cultural assimilation of indigenous populations by bearers of Slavic languages as a major mechanism of the spread of Slavic languages to the Balkan Peninsula. This might suggest shared ancestry and gene flow across the wide Balkan area and physical boundaries such as the Carpathian Mountains, including the present-day Hungarians, Albanians, Romanians and Greeks.

Tables

Y-DNA haplogroups

Population	Samples	Source	I2a	R1a	E1b1b	I1	G	R1b	J2b	J2a	J1	N	Q	I2+	other	unknown
Serbians	103	Reguiero et al. (2012)	29,1	20,4	18,5	7,8	5,8	7,8	2,9	4	1	1,9	0	1	0	0
Serbs	267	Poreklo (Jan. 2014)	30,33	25,84	14,60	8,98	4,86	3,37	6,74	2,24	0,37	1,87	0	0,37	0,37	0
Serbs, Aleksandrovac	85	Todorović et al. (2014)	35,29	21,17	15,29	4,70	10,58	1,17	4,70	2,35	2,35	0	1,17	0	0	1,17

Older studies

Population	Samples	Source
Serbians	179	Mirabal et al. (2010)
Vojvodina	185	Veselinović (2008)

Population	Samples	Source	E*1b1b1	E1b1b1a2	G2a*	I1*	I2*	I2a1*	I2b1	J1*	J2a1k	J2b*	J2b2	N1	R1a1*	R1b1b2
Serbs, B&H	81	Battaglia et al. (2008)	2.5	19.8	1.2	2.5	2.5	34.6	1.2	1.2	2.5	3.7	2.5	6.2	13.6	6.2

Population	Samples	Source	E3b*	E3b1	G	I1a	I1b*	I*	I1c	J1	J2*	J2e	J2f*	J2f1	F*	K*	R1a1	R1b
Serbs, B&H	81	Marjanović et al. (2005)	2.5	19.8	1.2	2.5	30.9	1.2	1.2	0	2.5	6.2	0	0	4.9	7.4	13.6	6.2

Population	Samples	Source	E3b*	E3b1	E3b1-α	E3b2	E3b3	G	J	J2e*	J2e1	J2*	J2f*	J2f1	F*	H1	I*	I1a	xM26	I1c	K*(xP)	R1b	R1a	Q*	P*(xQ,R1)
Serbians, Belgrade	113	Peričić et al. (2005)	0	1.77	18.58	0	0.90	0	0	4.40	0.90	0	0	2.70	0	0.90	1.77	5.31	29.20	0	7.08	10.62	15.93	0	0

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

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  R1a distribution

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  E-V13/E1b1b distribution

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  I distribution

See also

• Y-DNA haplogroups in European populations
• Y-DNA haplogroups by ethnic group