Origin of the Ukrainian minority of Kazakhstan as inferred from HLA-A, -B, -C,-DRB1, and-DQB1 alleles and haplotypes distribution

The present-day population of Kazakhstan comprises more than 100 ethnic and linguistic groups, of which Ukrainians rates numerically as the fourth, following native Kazakhs, Russians, and Uzbeks. We investigated the HLA profile of Kazakhstani Ukrainians and compared them with those of other populations by applying genetic distances, correspondence analysis, admixture, and haplotype examination. Of the 128 HLA alleles identified, A*02:01 (28.64%), B*07:02 (9.71%), B*13:02 (9.71%), C*06:02 (15.05%), DRB1*07:01 (15.20%), and DQB1*03:01 (24.76%) were the utmost common alleles. The most common 2-locus haplotypes identified were A*02:01 similar to B*13:02 (6.66%), B*13:02 similar to DRB1*07:01 (6.57%), B*13:02 similar to C*06:02 (10.10%), and DRB1*01:01 similar to DQB1*05:01 (12.12%), while A*02:01 similar to B*13:02 similar to C*06:02 similar to DRB1*07:01 similar to DQB1*02:01 were the most frequent five-locus haplotype (4.04%) in Kazakhstani Ukrainians. Comparative analysis revealed that Ukrainians of Kazakhstan are closely related to Eastern Europeans (included Ukrainians), and European Russians, but distant from Asian populations. This supports the historical notion that Kazakhstani Ukrainians originated from Ukraine, following their massive migrations to central Asia in the 18th-20th centuries.

Automated summary

The study found that the HLA profile of Ukrainian population in Kazakhstan is closely related to Eastern Europeans (including Ukrainians) and European Russians but distant from Asian populations. This supports the idea that the Kazakhstani Ukrainians originated from Ukraine and migrated to Central Asia in the 18th-20th centuries.