Intensive post-war migrations and mtDNA variation based on Poland case

Abstract

In Poland, the population of Western Pomerania stands out due to the near-total displacement of its inhabitants following World War II. The German population was displaced (1.6 million people), and these lands were subsequently resettled by Poles arriving from various regions of Poland and Europe. Currently, the population of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship is 1.63 million, with 298 unrelated individuals studied. The research aimed to assess the variability of the entire mitochondrial control region (16024..16569, 1..576 bp in rCRS) among the inhabitants of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship and to compare the data with those from European and Polish populations. The study revealed a high level of genetic diversity in mtDNA among the inhabitants of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, making it one of the most diverse populations in Poland and Europe. A total of 243 haplotypes were identified, with the most common haplogroups being HV, U, T, J, and R0. Within this population, the probability of random matching was 1:145. The molecular parameters obtained indicate a high degree of heterogeneity in the population of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship compared to the neighbouring German population from Fore Pomerania. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1038/s41598-025-22219-4. Keywords: mtDNA, Genetic variation, Post-war migration, Forensic genetics, EMPOP database Subject terms: Genetics, Molecular biology