A recent study, published in the journal Scientific Reports by the Nature Publishing Group, explores the paternal and maternal genetic composition of Hungarian-speaking populations in the Baranja region of Croatia and the Zobor region of Slovakia. The study, first authored by Noémi Borbély, assistant research fellow at our institute and a PhD student at ELTE, aimed to map regional genetic similarities and differences in these relatively isolated, village-based communities.

The research focused on genetic elements inherited exclusively from the mother's and father's sides (the entire mitochondrial genome and Y-chromosome variants). By analyzing these elements, researchers could better understand the genetic makeup of these populations.

The study sampled a total of 168 participants from two regions: Alsóbodok, Zsére, Kolon, Gímes, and Pográny in Zoboralja, and Csúza, Kopács, Várdaróc, Laskó, Kórógy, Vörösmart, Hercegszőlős, Haraszti, Szentlászló, and Sepse in the Croatian Baranja region. Participants were elderly individuals with local ancestry who volunteered for the study. All data were handled anonymously throughout the research. Our institute's staff and the Hungarian Institute for Forensic Sciences compared the new data with existing ancient DNA data from Eurasia and the Carpathian Basin.

fig 1The sample collection settlements in Croatian Baranja and Zobor Regions.

Although population-based analyses are not always ideal for detecting fine-scale genetic variants, the comparative analysis of Y-chromosomal short tandem repeats (STR) data and mitochondrial genome sequences yielded significant results.fig 2MDS plot of the genetic distances of the studied groups based on 23 Y-STR.

We have established that while the majority of the paternal and maternal lineages show diversity characteristic of East-Central Europe due to the geographical location, certain rarer subgroups and lineages reveal ancient connections with historical populations of Europe and Eastern Eurasia.

According to the distribution of mitochondrial haplogroups, the populations of the Baranja region have more connections with southern Europe, while the Zobor region populations share several lineages with their northern and eastern neighbours. Phylogenetic analysis of the maternal lineages indicated remarkable relationships with genetic samples from Hungarians in the 10th-11th centuries, especially from the Baranja region.

fig 9Partial phylogenetic tree of mitochondrial subhaplogroup U5a2.

The general pattern of Y-chromosomal haplogroups was similar in both regions, with high diversity in the Baranja region and slightly lower diversity in the Zobor region. This difference might be due to the smaller sample size from the Zobor region.

fig 5Network of haplotypes belonging to paternal haplogroup I2a-P37.

This study enhances our understanding of the genetic composition and heritage of the Carpathian Basin, providing new, high-resolution genetic datasets representing the local population.

We extend our gratitude to all participants and local organizers for their invaluable support, which made this research possible.