Genetic Variation of 15 Autosomal Short Tandem Repeat (STR) Loci in the Palestinian Population of Gaza Strip

Abstract

Allele frequencies for 15 autosomal Short Tandem Repeat (STR) loci namely Penta E, D18S51, D21S11, TH01, D3S1358, FGA, TPOX, D8S1179, vWA, Penta D, CSF1PO, D16S539, D7S820, D13S317, D5S818 and Amelogenin, were studied in a sample of 125 unrelated individuals from the Palestinian population of Gaza Strip. PCR amplification was performed with the PowerPlex® 16 PCR amplification system and the amplified products were separated and detected using the ABI 3130 DNA genetic analyzer using reference-sequenced ladder. No significant departure from Hardy Weinberg Equilibrium (HWE) expectations were observed for 11 of the 15 STR loci analyzed (P-value >0.05). The exceptions were the Penta E, D5S818, D13S317 and vWA loci but when the Bonferroni procedure was used as a correction for the multiple tests performed on a population sample, none of the previous P-values could be considered significant. No linkage disequilibrium was found between the loci located on the same chromosome, and thus they are statistically independent. The FIS value for Gazan population has been calculated as – 0.024. This low FIS value indicates that the population is in random mating with high level of heterozygosity. The combined probability of exclusion, power of discrimination, probability of matching value for all the 15 STR loci were 0.999998595; 0.999999986 and 2.73 x 10-18 , respectively. In the light of the obtained results, we can confidently conclude that these 15 markers are suitable for forensic analyses and paternity testing in the Palestinian population of the Gaza Strip.