Genetic diversity and forensic statistical support for the 12 X-STR markers in the Malaysian Indian population using Qiagen Investigator® Argus X-12 QS kit

Aedrianee Reeza Alwi; Naji Arafat Mahat; Faezah Mohd Salleh; Seri Mirianti Ishar; Mohammad Rahim Kamaluddin; Mohd Radzniwan A Rashid; Sharifah Nany Rahayu Karmilla Syed Hassan

doi:10.1016/j.legalmed.2024.102416

Genetic diversity and forensic statistical support for the 12 X-STR markers in the Malaysian Indian population using Qiagen Investigator® Argus X-12 QS kit

Leg Med (Tokyo). 2024 Feb 3:68:102416. doi: 10.1016/j.legalmed.2024.102416. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Aedrianee Reeza Alwi¹, Naji Arafat Mahat², Faezah Mohd Salleh³, Seri Mirianti Ishar⁴, Mohammad Rahim Kamaluddin⁵, Mohd Radzniwan A Rashid⁶, Sharifah Nany Rahayu Karmilla Syed Hassan⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biosciences, Faculty of Science, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), 81310 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia; Department of Chemistry Malaysia Johor State, Jalan Abdul Samad, 80100 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia. Electronic address: aedrianee@kimia.gov.my.
² Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), 81310 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia; Investigative and Forensic Sciences Research Group, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), 81310 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia; Centre for Sustainable Nanomaterials, Ibnu Sina Institute for Scientific and Industrial Research, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), 81310 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia; Centre of Research for Fiqh Forensics and Judiciary, Faculty of Syariah and Law, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM), Bandar Baru Nilai, 71800 Nilai, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. Electronic address: naji.arafat@utm.my.
³ Department of Biosciences, Faculty of Science, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), 81310 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia; Investigative and Forensic Sciences Research Group, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), 81310 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia. Electronic address: faezah@utm.my.
⁴ Forensic Science Program, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia. Electronic address: seri.ishar@ukm.edu.my.
⁵ Psychology and Human Well Being Research Centre, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia. Electronic address: rahimk@ukm.edu.my.
⁶ Family Medicine Unit, Faculty of Medicine and Health Science, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM), Bandar Baru Nilai, 71800 Nilai, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. Electronic address: mradzniwan@usim.edu.my.
⁷ Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA), Medical Campus, 20400 Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, Malaysia. Electronic address: karmillahassan@unisza.edu.my.

PMID: 38325234
DOI: 10.1016/j.legalmed.2024.102416

Abstract

X-chromosome short tandem repeats (X-STRs) are useful for human identification, especially in complex kinship scenarios. Since forensic statistical parameters vary among populations and the X-STRs population data for the diverse population of Peninsular Malaysia's are unavailable, this attempt for Indians (n = 201) appears forensically relevant to support the 12 X-STRs markers' evidential value for human identification in Malaysia. The Qiagen Investigator® Argus X-12 QS kit showed that DXS10135 was the most polymorphic locus with high genetic diversity, polymorphism information richness, heterozygosity, and exclusion power. Based on allele frequencies, the strength of discrimination and mean exclusion chance (MEC_Krüger, MEC_Kishida, MEC_Desmarais, and MEC_DesmaraisDuo) values for the Malaysian Indians were ≥0.999997790686228. As for haplotype frequencies, the overall discrimination power and mean exclusion probability (MEC_Krüger, MEC_Kishida, MEC_Desmarais, and MEC_DesmaraisDuo) were ≥0.9999984801951. The genetic distance, neighbor-joining phylogenetic tree, and principal component analysis also supported the evidential value of the 12 X-STRs markers for forensic practical caseworks in Malaysia.

Keywords: Forensic statistical parameters; Indian; Malaysia; Population genetics; X-STRs.