Genetic polymorphisms of 54 mitochondrial DNA SNP loci in Chinese Xibe ethnic minority group

Phylogenetic analyses of the 19 STR loci in X chromosome revealed discriminant forensic characteristics for Chinese Daur and Oroqen minorities

In respect of forensic genetics, X-STRs are widely applied for deficiency paternity cases. Given the popularization of AGCU-X19 STR Kit in China, there has been investigation conducted into the genetic data and forensic parameters of 19 X-STR loci in many of the Chinese ethnic groups, which makes it possible to perform nationwide phylogenetic comparation. To evaluate the allele and haplotype diversity of 19 X-STR loci and to explore their forensic efficiency in the Daur and Oroqen minorities, unrelated healthy Daur (n = 86) and Oroqen (n = 165) individuals were recruited from Heilongjiang province, so as to reveal the phylogenetic relationship between the two minorities and other Chinese ethnic groups. Of the Daur and Oroqen minorities, 172 and 183 alleles at the 19 X-STR loci were observed, respectively. Haplotype diversity exceeded 0.9 among all the linkage clusters. High cumulative value was observed for the power of discrimination, the probability of exclusion, and the mean exclusion chance for deficiency cases (normal trios and duo cases). As revealed by this study, the panel of 19 X-STR loci is an effective supplementary tool for the kinship test of the studied nationalities.

Forensic applicability of autosomal insertion/deletion loci in Chinese Daur ethnic group and genetic affinity evaluations between Daur group and reference populations

In present study, we evaluated the genetic diversities of 30 insertion/deletion (InDel) loci and analyzed the genetic relationships between Daur and other comparison populations. In the studied Daur group, any two InDel loci showed no linkage disequilibrium, and all loci showed no deviations from exact tests of Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Insertion allele frequencies at 30 InDel loci ranged from 0.1459 (HLD39) to 0.8774 (HLD118). The observed heterozygosity and expected heterozygosity values were ranged from 0.1984 (HLD118) to 0.5564 (HLD6) and 0.2155 (HLD118) to 0.5000 (HLD92 and HLD6), respectively. The combined power of discrimination and power of exclusion values were 0.999999999993428 and 0.9878, respectively, which indicated that this panel of 30 InDels could be used for individual identifications in Daur group. Population genetic analyses including pairwise fixation index, STRUCTURE analysis, principal component analysis, genetic distance, multidimensional scaling analysis and phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that the Daur group had the closer genetic relationships with the groups from western China in comparison with other continental populations.

Joint Genetic Analyses of Mitochondrial and Y-Chromosome Molecular Markers for a Population from Northwest China

The genetic markers on mitochondria DNA (mtDNA) and Y-chromosome can be applied as a powerful tool in population genetics. We present a study to reveal the genetic background of Kyrgyz group, a Chinese ethnic group living in northwest China, and genetic polymorphisms of 60 loci on maternal inherited mtDNA and 24 loci on paternal inherited Y-chromosome short tandem repeats (Y-STRs) were investigated. The relationship between the two systems was tested, and the result indicated that they were statistically independent from each other. The genetic distances between Kyrgyz group and 11 reference populations for mtDNA, and 13 reference populations for Y-STRs were also calculated, respectively. The present results demonstrated that the Kyrgyz group was genetically closer to East Asian populations than European populations based on the mtDNA loci but the other way around for the Y-STRs. The genetic analyses could largely strengthen the understanding for the genetic background of the Kyrgyz group.

Haplogroup Structure and Genetic Variation Analyses of 60 Mitochondrial DNA Markers in Southern Shaanxi Han Population

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has been widely employed as one tool for the studies of human migration and phylogenetic evolution owing to the characteristics of its lack of recombination and matrilineal inheritance. In this study, we analyze genetic distributions of 60 mtDNA markers in 126 unrelated individuals of Southern Shaanxi Han population and classify their haplogroups. Genetic distribution comparisons between Southern Shaanxi Han and other populations from different continents are conducted based on the same mtDNA markers. The majority of 60 mtDNA markers are polymorphic in Southern Shaanxi Han population. The most common haplogroups observed in Southern Shaanxi Han population are B5, followed by D5, A, D4e, and N9a1'3. Obtained matching probability for these 60 mtDNA markers indicates that the panel could be used as a valuable tool in forensic caseworks. Results of genetic distances (Fst) and multidimensional scaling analysis show that Southern Shaanxi Han population has relatively close genetic relationships with other Han populations in different regions. In conclusion, the panel comprising 60 mtDNA markers could be utilized for forensic applications in Southern Shaanxi Han population.