Genetic analysis of admixture between Bayash Roma from northwestern Croatia and general Croatian population
The Roma are a minority group that do not share a common homeland, speak different languages and consist of individuals of various religions. Population-genetic studies of Roma, as a transnational isolate, have mostly sought to compare their genetic affinities with proposed parental populations. The aim of this study is to assess the genetic structure of the Bayash Roma population from northwestern Croatia, and in the general Croatian population, to investigate the extent of admixture between them. Population differentiation and structure was analyzed on a set of genetic microsatellite data from two original studies (100 Bayash Roma from northwestern Croatia and 195 individuals from the general Croatian population). Results demonstrated that two population clusters best explain the genetic structure. Most of the individuals of the Bayash Roma population were assigned to a single genetic cluster and most of the individuals of the general Croatian population were assigned to another. Admixture analysis revealed that the percentage of non- Croatian individuals in general Croatian population is approximately twofold higher than percentage of non-Romani individuals in Romani population. Higher percentages of admixed and non-Croatian individuals found in the general Croatian population and lower percentages of admixed and non-Roma individuals found in the Bayash Roma population is in line with the presence of ethnomimicry in Roma.