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Abstract
Background: The most abundant of the collagen protein family, type I collagen is encoded by the COL1A2 gene. The COL1A2 restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) EcoRI, RsaI and MspI in samples from several different central-eastern Mediterranean populations were analysed and found to be potentially informative anthropogenetic markers.
Aim: The objective was to define the genetic variability of COL1A2 in the central-eastern Mediterranean and to shed light on its genetic distribution in human groups over a wide geographic area.
Subjects and methods: PCR-RFLP analysis of EcoRI, RsaI and MspI polymorphisms of the COL1A2 gene was performed on oral swab and blood samples from 308 individuals from the central-eastern Mediterranean Basin. The genetic similarities among these groups and other populations described in the literature were investigated through correspondence analysis.
Results: Single-marker data and haplotype frequencies seemed to suggest a genetic homogeneity within the European populations, whereas a certain degree of differentiation was noted for the Egyptians and the Turks.
Conclusions: The genetic variability in the central-eastern Mediterranean area is probably a result of the geographical barrier of the Mediterranean Sea, which separated European and African populations over time.
Acknowledgements
We thank the donors for providing the biological specimens; Omer Gokcumen, Gabriella Girelli and Alessandro Di Meo (Associazione un Ponte per) for their assistance in collecting the Turkish, Italian and Serbian samples, respectively; and Kenneth Britsch for the English revision of the manuscript.
Declaration of interest
The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.