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Volume 8
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10.3390/heritage8120531
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Article

Millennia of Mitochondrial Change: Tracing Haplogroup Variation in Lithuania

by
Ingrida Domarkienė
1,2,
Indrė Krastinaitė
1,*,
Justina Kozakaitė
1,
Ingrida Kavaliauskienė
2,
Henryk W. Witas
3,
Vaidutis Kučinskas
1,2 and
Rimantas Jankauskas
1
1
Faculty of Medicine, Translational Health Research Institute, Vilnius University, Žaliųjų ežerų St 2, LT-08406 Vilnius, Lithuania
2
Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Department of Human and Medical Genetics, Vilnius University, Santariškių St 2, LT-08406 Vilnius, Lithuania
3
Independent Researcher, Poland
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Heritage 2025, 8(12), 531; https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage8120531 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 29 September 2025 / Revised: 5 December 2025 / Accepted: 7 December 2025 / Published: 12 December 2025
Versions Notes

Abstract

Background: A comprehensive temporal analysis of mtDNA haplogroup variation across Lithuanian history remains limited. This study investigates the mtDNA variation landscape during the Iron Age by comparing newly reported Iron Age individual mtDNA data with the new data from present-day Lithuanians. Methods: Remains of individuals from the Iron Age Lithuania (n = 101) were processed using standard protocols for ancient DNA processing. For the present-day Lithuanians (n = 279), whole mitogenomes were sequenced. Thirty-six polymorphic sites within the Hypervariable Region I were used for haplogroup assignment, phylogenetic and population genetic analyses. Results: Fifteen distinct haplogroups in the Iron Age and the present-day Lithuanians were identified. Haplogroup R0/H remained the most frequent across time. Haplogroups U, T, and N were prominent in the Iron Age. Haplogroups M and D were introduced after the Iron Age. Phylogenetic and population genetic analyses revealed greater mtDNA diversity in the present-day Lithuanians. Significant difference in molecular variance was observed during the Iron Age. Barring the Viking period, the Iron Age mtDNA variation matched the present-day Lithuanian and European populations. Conclusions: Our study showed that mtDNA variation over time remained stable with some random fluctuations and gained more diversity in the present-day Lithuanians.
Keywords: mtDNA; haplogroup; population; Roman period; Migration period; Viking period; Iron Age; Lithuania mtDNA; haplogroup; population; Roman period; Migration period; Viking period; Iron Age; Lithuania

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MDPI and ACS Style

Domarkienė, I.; Krastinaitė, I.; Kozakaitė, J.; Kavaliauskienė, I.; Witas, H.W.; Kučinskas, V.; Jankauskas, R. Millennia of Mitochondrial Change: Tracing Haplogroup Variation in Lithuania. Heritage 2025, 8, 531. https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage8120531

AMA Style

Domarkienė I, Krastinaitė I, Kozakaitė J, Kavaliauskienė I, Witas HW, Kučinskas V, Jankauskas R. Millennia of Mitochondrial Change: Tracing Haplogroup Variation in Lithuania. Heritage. 2025; 8(12):531. https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage8120531

Chicago/Turabian Style

Domarkienė, Ingrida, Indrė Krastinaitė, Justina Kozakaitė, Ingrida Kavaliauskienė, Henryk W. Witas, Vaidutis Kučinskas, and Rimantas Jankauskas. 2025. "Millennia of Mitochondrial Change: Tracing Haplogroup Variation in Lithuania" Heritage 8, no. 12: 531. https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage8120531

APA Style

Domarkienė, I., Krastinaitė, I., Kozakaitė, J., Kavaliauskienė, I., Witas, H. W., Kučinskas, V., & Jankauskas, R. (2025). Millennia of Mitochondrial Change: Tracing Haplogroup Variation in Lithuania. Heritage, 8(12), 531. https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage8120531

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