Genetic analysis of the human remains of the burials of the 17th–18th centuries of the Corpus Christi Church in Nesvizh (Belarus)

During archaeological excavation in the territory of the Corpus Christi Church in Nesvizh, the regular burials dated to the 17th–18th centuries were discovered. The genetic material extracted from the bones of seven unidentified individuals was analyzed using the forensic genetics approaches, including STR profiling and DNA phenotyping. The genetic examination revealed that the remains of three samples (#1, #2, #6) belonged to women, and the four others (#3, #4, #5, and #7) belonged to men. Autosomal STR-data and Y-chromosomal profiles were obtained for five samples. The kinship analysis excluded that woman #1 and men #3, #4, #5, #7 were first-degree relatives. According to the Y-STR profiles, men #3, #4, #7 referred to the haplogroup R1a, the haplotype of individual #5 corresponded to I2. The both haplogroups are widely represented in Eastern Europe, which, with a high degree of probability, suggests the Slavic origin of the individuals under investigation. To predict eye and hair color, we used the HIrisPlex DNA phenotyping system. The analysis gave the satisfactory results for woman #1 and man #7. In correspondence to the allelic variants of the 24 SNP system, woman #1 had an intermediate type of iris pigmentation and dark blond hair (p = 0.635) with dark shade (0.639), light skin tone, low tendency to sunburn, and a high probability of freckles and pigmented spots of the skin. For male #7, the HIrisPlex model predicted blue eye color with a high probability (p = 0.915), as well as blond hair color (p = 0.915) and light hair color shade (p = 0.962). Our data allow us to conclude that the unknown individuals under investigation have significant genetical and phenotypical similarity with the modern Belarusian population.