Population genetics of 17 Y-STR loci in a large Chinese Han population from Zhejiang Province, Eastern China

Abstract

Seventeen Y-STRs (DYS19, DYS389I, DYS389II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, DYS393, DYS385a, DYS385b, DYS438, DYS439, DYS437, DYS448, DYS456, DYS458, DYS635 and YGATAH4) were analyzed for 4451 Chinese Han unrelated males from Zhejiang Province, Eastern China, with the AmpFlSTR Yfiler™ PCR Amplification kit. A total of 3389 different haplotypes was identified, of which 2877 were unique and 512 repeatedly found among different individuals. The overall haplotype diversity (HD) and discrimination capacity (DC) were 0.999696 and 0.761402, respectively. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) tests demonstrated that genetic distance between Zhejiang Han and most Chinese Han populations is closer than that between Zhejiang Han and non-Han populations. This study provides information for the application of Y-chromosomal STRs to forensic identification, indicating that the extended genotyping of Y-STRs is needed for forensic practice.