Differentiation and genetic position of Slavs among Eurasian ethnic groups as inferred from variation in mitochondrial DNA

The distribution of identical and similar (phylogenetically related) types of hypervariable segment 1 (HVS 1) of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) was studied in human populations belonging to three Slavonic groups and nine ethnogeographic groups of Eurasia (total sample size 2772 people), The results testified to a common origin of West, South, and East Slavs and revealed a central place of West Slavs among all Slavonic ethnic groups. Mixing was shown to play a substantial role in the formation of specific features of all three Slavonic gene pools. The mitochondrial gene pools of the Slavonic ethnic groups proved to preserve features suggesting a common ancestor for these and South European populations (especially those of the Balkan Peninsula).