Study of the Role of the Main Factors of Population Dynamics in the Mechanism of Differentiation and Formation of Diversity and Genetic Load of Hereditary Diseases in Subpopulations of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic

Abstract

The generalized results of the genetic and epidemiological study of the genetic structure of various ethnic groups of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic (KChR) through various genetic systems are presented: by the genes causing AD, AR, and X-linked hereditary diseases and by nonbiological parameters estimated by the methods of population statistics (random inbreeding F_ST, Malécot’s isolation-by-distance parameters, migration index, and Crow index and its components). The total size of the investigated population was 410 367 individuals (city of Cherkessk, Ust-Dzhegutinsky, Karachayevsky, Malokarachayevsky, Prikubansky, Khabezsky, Nogaysky, Adyge-Khablsky, Urupsky, and Zelenchuksky districts). On the basis of the study of correlations between different characteristics of the population genetic structure, it is assumed that the main cause of genetic differentiation of KChR subpopulations in terms of diversity and load of hereditary diseases (AD, AR, and X-linked) is genetic drift and migration under decreased influence of natural selection and mutational process.