Population genetics for Y-chromosomal STRs haplotypes of Chinese Tujia ethnic group

Genetic analysis of 17 Y-chromosomal STR loci of Chinese Tujia ethnic group residing in Youyang Region of Southern China

Y-STR haplotype data were obtained in a population sample of 197 unrelated healthy male individuals of Chinese Tujia ethnic minority group residing in an autonomous county of Southern China using 17 Y-chromosome STR markers. A total of 197 haplotypes were identified in the set of Y-STR loci. The overall haplotype diversity for the Tujia population at 17 Y-STR loci was 1.0000±0.0005. Genetic distance was estimated between this population and other 14 Chinese populations including Paiwan and Atayal populations of Taiwan, and Southern Han, Dong, Jing, Miao, Yao, Zhuang, Yi, Maonan, She, Hui, Sala, and Tibetan ethnic groups. The results demonstrated that the 17 Y-STR loci analyzed were highly polymorphic in Tujia ethnic group examined and hence useful for forensic cases, paternity testing, and population genetic studies.

Dominant contribution of northern chinese to the paternal genetic structure of Chaoshanese in South China

We investigated the Y chromosome of various Chinese populations to determine the patrilineal origin of the Chaoshanese population. Admixture analysis of six specific Y short tandem repeat (STR) loci in 6,292 individual samples taken from 51 populations, including Chaoshanese and Minnanese of our earlier studies, showed that over 85% of the Chaoshanese Y chromosomes were derived from the Central China Han (M (RH): 0.8614; M (BE): 1.1868 ± 0.2054), and a very small portion were from the southern aborigines. These results support a Central China Han origin of the Chaoshanese and additionally reveal that males from the Central China Han were the predominant contributor to the patrilineal genetics of the Chaoshanese. A phylogenetic tree and analysis of molecular variance signified a strong association between Y chromosomes of Chinese populations and their linguistic affiliations, revealing a coevolution of Y chromosome diversity and languages in East Asia.

Distributions of HLA-A and -B alleles and haplotypes in the Yi ethnic minority of Yunnan, China: relationship to other populations

Objective: To investigate the distributions of human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-A and -B alleles and HLA-A-B haplotypes in the Yi ethnic minority of the Yunnan Province, situated in southwestern China. Methods: DNA typing for HLA-A and -B loci was performed using the polymerase chain reaction-sequence-based typing (PCR-SBT) method on 114 randomly selected healthy individuals of the Yi population. The allelic frequencies of HLA-A and -B loci were calculated by direct counting and HLA-A-B haplotypes were estimated using the expectation maximization algorithm. Results: A total of 17 HLA-A and 38 HLA-B alleles were found in the Yi population. The most frequent alleles were A*2402 (32.46%), A*1101 (26.32%), and A*0203 (10.09%) at the HLA-A locus and B*4601 (12.28%), B*1525 (10.09%), B*4001 (8.77%), and B*3802 (7.89%) at the HLA-B locus. The predominant HLA-A-B haplotypes were A*2402-B*1525 (7.86%) and A*0203-B*3802 (5.64%), followed by A*1101-B*4001 (4.69%). Phylogenetic analysis indicates that the Yi population in the Honghe, Yunnan Province of China basically belongs to groups of southeastern Asian origin, but shares some characteristics with northeastern Asian groups. Conclusion: The present study may add to the understanding of HLA polymorphism in the Yi ethnic group that was poorly defined previously, and provide useful information for bone marrow transplantation, anthropological research, and forensic sciences as well as for disease-association studies.

Genetic polymorphism of 11 Y-chromosomal STR loci in Yunnan Han Chinese

Allele frequencies and haplotypes of 11 Y-chromosome STR loci, DYS19, DYS389I, DYS389II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, DYS393, DYS385 ab, DYS438, DYS439 and DYS437 were determined in 320 unrelated Yunnan Han Chinese males. A total of 293 haplotypes were identified, of which 268 were unique, 23 were shared in two individuals, and 2 were shared in three individuals. The allele diversity values for each locus ranged from 0.4087 (DYS438) to 0.9701 (DYS385). The allele observed haplotypes diversity value was 0.9994. The combined Y-chromosome STR polymorphisms provide a powerful discrimination tool for routine forensic applications.