Background: From a demographic and genetic perspective, Bosnia and Herzegovina is interwoven with a number of differentially isolated local populations of indigenous people with different population and religious backgrounds.
Aim: In order to estimate their genetic structure, this study investigated the frequencies of 10 Alu polymorphic loci in 10 regional populations distributed across Bosnia and Herzegovina. Genetic differentiation among the three major population groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina was estimated.
Subjects and methods: DNA from 506 unrelated individuals was extracted from buccal swabs using the salting-out extraction method. Each DNA sample was PCR-amplified using locus-specific primers.
Results: Gene diversity values showed similarity in all analysed populations and ranged from 0.305-0.328. FST values for all loci showed that most variability is found within populations. Overall FST for all loci and AMOVA indicated that most variability was detected within populations.
Conclusion: Results of this study are in agreement with the previous studies, indicating that the three populations in Bosnia and Herzegovina have the same genetic background. There is no significant differentiation among regional populations, pointing to absence of geographic influence. The Bosnian population is clearly located within the European gene pool.