The analysis of three short tandem repeat (STR) loci in the Slovene population by multiplex PCR

Allele frequencies for three tetrameric short tandem repeat (STR) loci D3S1358, HUMVWA, and HUMFGA were determined in a Slovene Caucasian population sample. DNA samples from a total of 221 Slovenes were amplified by multiplex PCR using the commercial kit AmpFISTR Blue (Perkin-Elmer). Separation and detection of the amplified STR fragments were carried out using a 377 automated genetic analyzer (Applied Biosystem Division/Perkin Elmer). Seven alleles at the D3S1358 locus, 8 alleles at the HUMVWA31A locus, and 13 alleles at the HUMFGA locus were observed. A deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium was observed, only at the HUMVWA31A locus (p = 0.045, exact test). The departure at this locus was not significant after Bonferroni correction. There were no detectable departures between pairwise comparisons of the loci. The combined power of discrimination for all three loci is 0.9998, and the power of exclusion is 0.9526. The observed allele frequencies for the loci D3S1358, HUMVWA31A, and HUMFGA are similar to those in European and U.S. Caucasian populations.