Y-chromosomal STRs Mutation Rates in the Yakut Population

Abstract

The fine structure of the Y chromosome haplogroup N3a2-M1982 has been described on the basis of complete sequencing data of 23 men, indigenous residents of Yakutia, taking into account both SNP and STR mutations. The mutation rate of the Y-chromosomal STR loci in the Yakut population was calibrated using radiocarbon dating of a sample of a medieval man, Yana Young, found in the lower reaches of the Yana River in Yakutia. Our estimates of the mutation rate in 23 STR loci haplotypes of the N3a2-M1991 branch using three different calculation options (0.0032, 0.0024, 0.0032) turned out to be slightly lower than the global average value according to YHRD data (0.0033) and higher than the average “genealogical” mutation rate (0.0021), but within the confidence interval, they do not contradict modern ideas about STR mutations rate of the Y chromosome.