The genetic heritage of the Pomaks
(Η γενετική κληρονομία των Πομάκων της Θράκης)
By Costas Triantaphyllidis,
By Costas Triantaphyllidis,
Emeritus Professor of Genetics and Human Genetics
Department
of Genetics, Development and Molecular Biology,
Aristotle University of
Thessaloniki, Greece, triant@bio.auth.gr
The Pomaks are Muslims inhabiting mainly Southern Bulgaria, Northeastern
Greece and North-western European Turkey. The historical origins of the Pomaks
are obscure. A plethora of pertinent theories exists about their origin because
of the lack of sufficient written
documentation. There have been
scientists who have argued that they originate from Mongolian
tribes who lived in
Asia Minor and the Balkans in the
7th century CE. Other exotic
theories proposed that they may even originate from ancient
African tribes. Most likely they are indigenous Balkan populations long established on the Rhodope Mountain, geographically isolated, and islamized during the 17th-18th
century. To investigate the genetic identity of Pomaks across the
Greek/Bulgarian borders and perhaps clarify the question of
their biological origin different sources of genetic (DNA) markers have been
utilized, i.e. 15 autosomal microsatellite markers (STRs), 733,202 single nucleotide
polymorphisms (SNPs), human leukocyte antigen markers (HLA),
as well as haematological traits. The main conclusions are the following: The Pomaks had lower
mean genetic diversity and heterozygosity compared with the other Balkan populations both in
patrilineal and autosomal genetic markers, suggesting the action of a founder
effect or a genetic drift. b) The Greek
Pomaks are of European (better said Balkan) origin, reinforcing the hypothesis
formulated by Theoharidis that the Pomaks are an indigenous Balkan population,
and c) The Greeks and Bulgarians
are genetically closer to Pomaks than the Turks. Using representative samples of Pomaks and
Balkan people and analysis of the whole genome of these samples, it is hoped
that the mystery of the Pomaks origins will be solved. However, it is worth stating, that based on the available genetic data it is
evident that the genetic differentiation between the Pomaks and the general
Greek population is very small.
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