Study reveals that Basques and Europeans are genetically different

2010/06/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Genetika

According to a study led by CIC bioGUNE, Basque citizens, both South and North, genetically form a homogeneous group, different from the rest of Europe. This research has been published in the journal Human Genetics.

Researchers from CICbioGUNE, the Department of Physical Genetic Anthropology and Animal Physiology from UPV and the Basque Biobank for O+Cien research from the BIO Foundation participated in the study.

According to Naiara Rodríguez and Ezpeleta of CIC bioGUNE, "research does not at all mean that Basques have genetic peculiarities with respect to other peoples, since Basques can be as genetically special as Sardines, Orchids or Russians."

"From this study it follows that the Basques differ from the rest of Europe, as the peoples who have lived isolated from Europe differ. That is, Europe is divided into groups, one of which is Basque," adds Rodríguez Ezpeleta.

This is the first large-scale research to collect individual genetic data from the Basque population living in the South and North. To do this, 60,000 genetic markers of 240 Europeans have been analyzed (83 of Hego Euskal Herria, 24 of Iparralde and 133 of other European countries).

Strict criteria for sample selection have been established. For example, the previous three generations of each individual must belong to the same place of birth.

The conclusions drawn from this study do not correspond to another study recently published in the same journal by the Pompeu Fabra University of Barcelona. According to him, the southern Basques look genetically more like the Spanish than the northern Basques, and the northern Basques look much like the Europeans compared to those in the south.

"This is quite rare, especially in two populations as similar in culture and language, as in the case of southern and northern Basques. This would mean that these two populations have been separated throughout history," explains Mikel Iriondo, a researcher at the UPV's Department of Genetics, Physical Anthropology and Animal Physiology.

According to Iriondo, the Catalan researchers concluded that "instead of using the genetic data of the individuals, they used the average of a group of about 30 people, so the result is not so reliable."