What Happened to Anastasia Romanov? A story of mitochondrial DNA

The Romanov Family Czar Nicholas and Czarina Alexandra were the rulers of Russia until 1917 They had five children – most famous were Alexei (heir apparent and born with hemophilia) and Anastasia (fourth daughter, subject of movies and speculation for years)

A Family Portrait Source: Associated Press

Hemophilia A hereditary disorder Blood does not clot normally Cannot make a protein that binds with platelets to make blood clot Any injury will bleed profusely More common in males than females because the defective gene is on the X chromosome

Symptoms of Hemophilia Source: http://www.doctortipster.com

The Czarina was descended from Queen Victoria

What happened in 1918? 1917 – Bolshevik revolution; Romanovs no longer considered royalty 1918 – The entire family was executed at midnight Two bodies were buried separately from the rest of the family, so rumors began at once that there were two survivors, probably Anastasia and Alexei

Anna Anderson - The most famous Anastasia For years, people claimed to be a member of the Romanov family who survived the executions 1920 – hospitalized for a suicide attempt 1922 – word spread that she was the missing Grand Duchess Anastasia – she said she was rescued by a soldier who was supposed to kill the family Like Anastasia, she had an slightly deformed foot She also knew some stories from Anastasia’s childhood

Could they be the same woman?

Investigations 1927 – The czarina’s brother (Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse) financed an investigation Conclusion: Anna Anderson is a Polish factory worker with a history of mental illness (Franziska Schanzkowska) But the lawsuits increased her publicity so more people believed her story Eventually moved to the U.S. – lived on the generosity of supporters, died and cremated in 1984

A Significant Find in 1991 The Romanov burial site was found in 1991 Missing two bodies The bones contained mtDNA (mitochondrial DNA)

What is mtDNA? Circular loop of DNA About 39 genes, including those for tRNA and rRNA About 2-10 copies per mitochondrion, 100-1,000 copies per human cell Inherited from mothers – true of all animals

Mitochondrial DNA Source: www.brusselsgenetics.be

More on mtDNA Human egg cell – 100,000 to 1,000,000 copies of mtDNA (from the mother) Human sperm cell – 100 to 1,000 copies of mtDNA (from the father) Source: Advanced BIOLOGY, Principles & Applications by Clegg, Mackean, Murray, p. 603.

Why don’t we have paternal mtDNA? Paternal (“from the father”) mtDNA does not survive in the fertilized egg Usually in the tail, which doesn’t enter the egg If they do enter the egg, they are marked for destruction later

What is the significance of this? mtDNA is usually unchanged from parent to offspring You can trace your lineage through your maternal line using your mtDNA All your siblings (including brothers) have the same mtDNA as your mother, which is the same mtDNA as her mother, which is the same mtDNA as your maternal great-grandmother, and so on….

Side note Jesse James was a famous American outlaw His remains were identified because his mtDNA matched that of the son of his sister’s great-granddaughter

Back to Anna Anderson The investigation continues… 1991 burial site – tested the mtDNA of the female bones Matched the mtDNA of Prince Philip of England (related through Queen Elizabeth to Czarina Alexandra) But rumors still abounded Anastasia and Alexei might still be alive somewhere (and what if Anna Anderson really were Anastasia?)

More testing Anna Anderson – died in 1984, right? In the 1990s, tested her mtDNA (from hair and lab samples) Matched the mtDNA of a man who was the great-nephew of Franziska Schanzkowska Franziska Schanzkowska was a Polish factory worker Anna Anderson was an impostor after all

But what about the real Anastasia (and Alexei)? 2007 – two more bodies were found, some distance from the Romanov burial site – that of a young boy and a teenage girl 2009 – many different organizations finished testing mtDNA of the remains Conclusion: These were the bodies of the missing Romanovs

Sources http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/hemophilia/ http://www.dnaftb.org/