Analysis of the Mitochondrial Gene Pool Structure of Russian Old-Settlers of the Arctic Coast of Yakutia from the Village of Russkoye Ust’ye

In this study, analysis of the mitochondrial gene pool structure of residents of the village of Russkoye Ust’ye was carried out. It was revealed that the spectrum of mitochondrial lines of the Russian old-settlers is represented by eight haplogroups and is characterized by the dominance of East Eurasian lineages C, D, G, F, and M13, which amounted to 66.7%. The West Eurasian lineages HV, H, and U (33.3%) were minor, the rare sub-haplogroup H2a which absent in the neighboring East Siberian populations was predominated. It was revealed that, among Russian old-settlers of the Indigirka River, the H2 lineages occurs with one of the highest frequencies in the world (16.7%), forming a specific cluster, distant from the other European H2a lineages, probably formed as a result of a founder effect. The preservation of specific maternal lineages in the gene pool of the Russian old-settlers may be one of the convincing pieces of evidence in favor of the existence of an earlier sea wave of settlement of the Arctic coast of Yakutia by Pomorians in the 16th century, before the arrival of the Cossacks in the 17th century.