Ancient Macedonian genes in Modern Macedonians.

On the question by some Greek citizen which is: What are the origin of the Slavo-Macedonians? The iGenea institute on their official forum answers: First of all, they are Macedonians, not Slavo-Macedonians like you call them by your political reasons. Most of the Macedonians are direct descendants of the ancient one, and just a small part of them are Slav origin. For bigger disappointment for the Greeks, iGenea reveals that only 32% of the Greeks have Hellenic, Macedonian, even Arabic origin. Other 31% of the Greeks have Celt, 12% German and Slav, and 11% have Illyrian origin.In the last period the official forum of the Swiss institute is full with questions that arrive from the Greek citizens, which are mostly interested about the origin of the Macedonians instead of their own origin. I also found the following from the iGenea websiteiGENEA works together closely with FamilytreeDNA. The DNA-Analyses are performed in the laboratory of FamilytreeDNA in Houston (USA).FamilyTreeDNA was founded in 2000 and was the first company in the world to carry out DNA-genealogy tests that concentrated on genealogical research. Today, FamilyTreeDNA possesses the largest genealogical DNA database in the world.iGENEA is the European branch of Family Tree DNA, the leading organisation for DNA genealogy. FamilyTreeDNA carries out 90% of all DNA genealogy tests worldwide.The focus of our area of research lies on the analysis of European origins and the comparison of historical, anthropological, and archaeological sources with the newest discoveries from the field of genetics. iGENEA wants to learn, which indigenous peoples left their traces in Europe and what fascinating and multitudinous roots today's Europeans still carry in them.iGENEA is a bridge between historical research and genetics and seeks to use the advantages offered by both fields in an interdisciplinary manner, in order to learn more about our origins. While research in the field of history provides the underlying theory, methods of genetic research enable us to evaluate the effects and truth content of the underlying historical assumptions.Y-Haplogroups (from iGenea website)MacedoniaI2A – 39%, E1B1B – 26%, RIA - 20%, J2 – 15%, RIB – 10%SerbiaI2A – 28%, E1B1B – 20%,, RIA – 19%, J2 – 9%, RIB – 14%BulgariaE1B1B – 31%, RIA – 28%, RIB – 41%GreeceI2A – 11%, E1B1B – 32%, RIA – 12%, J2 – 14%, RIB - 31%UkraineI2A – 15%, E1B1B – 10%, RIA – 57%, J2 – 7%, RIB – 11%Post from iGENEA to 14.07.2008 (from official iGenea forum in response to a question)We have a lot of customers, who carried out a DNATest and discovered their Macedonian roots. A German journalist is actually searching Macedonian customers; Please, if you would be interest to talk to her, contact me under : pazos@gentest.ch. Inma PazosiGENEATel. +41 (0)43 233 81 51info@igenea.comhttp://www.igenea.com/ Furhter from iGenea websiteHow can a family be genetically distinguished? The DNA of all human beings is up to 99.9% identical. The remaining 0.1% are the source of the individual differences (e.g. eye colour, risks of certain illnesses, or deviations with no discernable function). Once in a while, there are non-functional sections in DNA, a coincidental harmless change called a Mutation. All descendants of that person will inherit this same mutation. If the same mutation shows up generations later in the DNA of two people, it is apparent, that they have a common ancestor. Mutations build the basis for the construction of a genetic family tree. How can DNA say anything about my Origins? Comparison of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and Y-chromosome DNA of people from different people groups provide geneticists with an idea of when and where these groups have travelled in the migrations of peoples around the world. Mutations do not merely mark individual families, but also entire sub-populations (population groups). When one researches the occurrence or frequency of certain mutations (markers), one can sub-divide the complex family tree of the human race into individual branches. If a people group migrates, or lives for a long time in geographic isolation– meaning that there would be no genetic exchange with other groups– then it develops its own mutation pattern. It becomes a haplogroup with genetic characteristics, that are unmistakeable. Each one of these groups stands for a branch of the human family tree: In Europe, for example, other haplogroups are distributed than in Africa or Asia. Even social and religious traditions leave their traces behind in the inherited genetic material, since the members of some groups preferentially marry among themselves. Although, for example, Celts and Germanic Tribes often encountered each other, there were hardly any intermarriages. The same is true, for example, of Jews, who lived in isolation for centuries and have thus preserved specific genetic characteristics. Even when written history falls silent, DNAGenealogy can further research and decipher the history of humankind. Thanks to the socalled molecular clock, the point in time when two lines divided and the epoch in which their last common ancestor lived can be determined. Analyses of genetic material also reveal the Wanderlust of the first humans. Researches discovered remarkable similarities between the people groups in India, Oceania, and Australia, as well as between Siberian peoples and Native Americans. Thanks to the molecular clock, we can not only determine the point in time and the origin of the migration, but also how the peoples are related to each other. This is how, for example, the ancestral origin of the Basques was discovered. http://www.igenea.com/index.php