Population genetic study of y-chromosome haplotypes in the population of El Salvador (San Salvador, Central America)

Y-chromosomal microsatellites (STRs) are proven to be useful in forensic practice but large and diverse population databases are required in order to facilitate the statistical evaluation of donor-stain matches. Here we present frequencies of a nine-STR loci set (DYS19, DYS388, DYS390, DYS392, DYS393, GATA A71, GATA A10, DYS 439 and GATA H4) in the population of El Salvador (San Salvador, Central America). Blood samples were taken from 120 healthy unrelated male individuals born and living in El Salvador (San Salvador, Central America). DNA was isolated from the samples using standard phenol–chloroform extraction method. Each locus was amplified individually, except for GATA A71, GATA A10, DYS 439 and GATA H4 (PCR-multiplex system). Detection of the amplified products was carried out using the Automatic Laser Fluorescent (ALF) DNA sequencer (Amersham Pharmacia, Uppsala, Sweden). The recommendations of the International Society for Forensic Genetics were followed for typing and interpretation. A total of 119 different haplotypes identified by the nine loci markers were observed. The overall haplotype diversity was 0.9998.