Scientists from UzhNU took charge of the international team of researchers who carried out new studies of the genome of Ukrainians

At 2 pm, on Wednesday, January 13, 2021, a presentation of the results of the study of genome diversity of Ukrainians, which was recently published in the scientific journal GigaScience will take place in the "green building" of UzhNU (89, M. Zankovetskoyi Street, Uzhhorod).

 Ukraine is a key country leading to understanding the genome diversity of people in Eastern Europe, as it is the largest country located entirely in Europe with its population formed as a result of millennia of migration processes, wars and assimilation. This area has long served as a prehistorical and historical crossroads for the resettlement of people throughout Europe and Asia. These are the lands where the expansion of our species, Homo sapiens, onto the territory inhabited by Neanderthals began. Early farmers settled here, who were just beginning to cultivate plants and domestic animals. Mass migration routes in the Middle Ages passed through the territory of modern Ukraine, as well as the trade routes between the Baltic and the Mediterranean, Europe and Asia along the ancient Silk Road.

Professor Taras Oleksyk, the project manager from Uzhhorod National University and the author of the article, says: “Our study shows that there is significant and previously unknown genome diversity in Ukraine, a country that has not been a priority in human genomic research to date. By studying the Ukrainians’ DNA samples, we found more than 13 million genetic variations, almost 500,000 of which were previously unrecorded."

The project data have become available to scientists around the world and they can now access their own research in a variety of fields, from biology and human medicine to unraveling the mysteries of human history. The obtained data are not only of medical significance, but also allow to understand demographic, historical and prehistorical migration processes through genetics.

Genome research in Ukraine is the result of international collaboration between Uzhhorod National University (Ukraine), Auckland University (USA), National Cancer Institute (USA), Beijing Genomics Institute (China), etc. 28 co-authors, including 7 from UzhNU, worked on the article. Lots of endocrinologists from different parts of Ukraine were involved in collecting the biological samples. The co-others representing UzhNU in this research are Taras Oleksyk, Walter Wolfsberger, Khrystyna Shchubelka, Olha Oleksyk, Patricia Boldizhar, Yaroslava Hasynets and Volodymyr Smolanka.

 It is also worth noting that Uzhhorod National University is currently conducting a genomic study in the EU border area under the project "Partnership for Genomic Research in Ukraine and Romania" with the support of the Joint Operational Programme Romania-Ukraine 2014-2020. Genome data will allow to obtain the most detailed and objective picture of genetic diversity, to see the genetic roots that have formed the modern population of Transcarpathia and northern Romania.

 The article will be published on January 13, 2021, but its preprint is already available at https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.08.07.238329v2

Media representatives are invited to the presentation and the press conference.

 

 

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