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Development of the Human Y Chromosome as a Forensic Tool, Final Progress Report

NCJ Number
181956
Date Published
2000
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This study was conducted to develop a set of male-specific markers for use in forensic typing laboratories.
Abstract
Main study goals were to identify a set of polymorphic markers mapping to the nonrecombining portion of the Y chromosome (NRY) that are robust in forensic analysis; to develop detailed protocols for high throughput, fluorescence-based typing of these markers; and to establish an NRY database for U.S. population groups. Several tri-, tetra-, and penta-nucleotide repeats exhibited robust amplification without artifactual banding and did not produce high- frequency alleles in all populations. Toward the goal of establishing an NRY polymorphism database, the researchers genotyped five Y-micro-satellites in a panel of 1,141 individuals representing 5 U.S. population groups (Southwest Hispanic, Caucasian, African American, Native American, and East Asian) and 15 populations from Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Six additional Y-micro-satellites were genotyped in a subset of the U.S. population groups. All 1,141 individuals were also genotyped at 31 bi-allelic polymorphisms on the NRY. The NRY was useful in identifying population-specific Y-chromosome haplotypes, while Y-micro-satellites and combination haplotypes provided a high degree of individualization among male lineages within populations. Results demonstrated the importance of considering the potential impact of both population structure and admixture among U.S. groups on the statistical analysis of Y-chromosome forensic data. 8 references, 7 tables, and 3 figures

Date Published: January 1, 2000