Anthrop. Anz. 70/3 (2013), pp. 309–317 Article J. Biol. Clinic. Anthrop. published online August 2013 www.schweizerbart.de 0003-5548/13/0296 $ 2.25  2013 E. Schweizerbart’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Stuttgart, Germany DOI: 10.1127/0003-5548/2013/0296 Close genetic relationships in vast territories: autosomal and X chromosome Alu diversity in Yakuts from Siberia Ares Roca˜ n´ ın-Arj´ o 1 , Laura Rodr´ ıguez-Botigu´ e 2 , Esther Esteban 1 , Catherine Theves 3 , Larissa E. Evdokimova 4 , Sardana A. Fedorova 5 , Morgane Gibert 3 , Eric Crubezy 3 , and Pedro Moral 1 1 Secci´ o d’Antropologia, Departament de Biologia Animal, Universitat de Barcelona, Barce- lona, Spain pmoral@ub.edu 2 Institut de Biologia Evolutiva (CSIC-UPF), Department de Ci` encies Experimentals i de la Salut, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain 3 Laboratory AMIS, UMR 5288, CNRS-Universit´ e de Toulouse III-Paul Sabatier, Universit´ e de Strasbourg, France 4 Hospital of the Viljujsk Ulus, Republic of Sakha, Russian Federation 5 North-Eastern Federal University and Yakut Research Centre of Complex Medical Prob- lems, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Republic of Sakha, Russian Federation With 2 figures, 1 table, and 2 supplementary figures Summary: Twelve autosomal and 8 X chromosome Alu markers were genotyped for the first time in 161 Central and West Yakuts to test their ability to reconstruct the genetic history of these populations, the northernmost Turkic-speaker ethnic group living in Siberia. Autoso- mal data revealed that both groups showed extremely close genetic distances to other popula- tions of Siberian origins that occupied areas from Lake Baikal, the ancestral place of origin of Yakuts, to North Siberia, their current territories. Autosomal and X chromosome data revealed some discrepancies on the genetic differentiation and the effective sizes of Central and West Yakuts. Such discrepancies could be related to the patrilineal and occasionally polygamous structure of these populations. Autosomal and X Alu markers are informative markers to reconstruct population past demography and history, but their utility is limited by the available data. This study represents a contribution for further investigations on these populations. Key words: X chromosome, gene diversity, Alu, Yakuts, Siberia. Introduction The Yakuts (or Sakhas) are the northernmost Turkic-speaker ethnic group living in Siberia. They are horse-breeders sharing a vast territory (3 million km 2 ) with rein- deer-breeder groups of Tungusic languages (Evens and Evenks). Yakut people con- trast with their neighbors not only in their cattle system and language, but also in other cultural aspects as their funeral practice based in the burial of individuals eschweizerbart_XXX