The gene pool of the Belgorod oblast population: Malecot’s isolation-by-distance parameters

Abstract

The mean distance between birthplaces of spouses (sigma, sigma'), the proportion of medium migrations (k), and the effective migration pressure (M(e)) have considerably increased, and the linear systematic pressure coefficient (b) has decreased in the human population of the Central Chernozem region during the past 50 years. However, the local inbreeding level (a), which is determined by both an increase in the migration intensity and a decrease in the effective population size (N(e)), has remained practically unchanged. A change in the regional administrative structure has affected the genetic structure of populations. In the 1950s, raions (administrative districts) of Kursk and Voronezh oblasts (regions) were similar with respect differentiation parameters, whereas the oblasts considerably differed from each other. At present, some Malecot's isolation-by-distance parameters for the populations of the districts that were included to Belgorod oblast in 1954 are lower and similar to those for the districts that remain in Kursk and Voronezh oblasts.