Genetic structure and forensic parameters of 30 InDels for human identification purposes in 10 Tibetan populations of China

Abstract

Insertion/deletion analysis can serve as a promising and useful supporting tool in forensic research. The Qiagen Investigator® DIPplex Kit contained 30 well-chosen autosomal InDels was targeted to reveal the population genetic variation. In the present study, 10 Tibetan populations residing in different geographic areas of China were recruited and genotyped by Investigator® DIPplex Kit. Allele frequencies and forensic parameters were determined. No significant departures from Hard-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) in all loci/populations after Bonferroni correction. The combined matching probability values range from 1.7148 × 10^-11 to 5.3516 × 10^-1° in 10 Tibetan populations. Our results revealed 10 Tibetan populations in China are genetically very similar. Intercontinental population differentiation analysis indicated Tibetan populations had a close genetic relationship with East Asian populations using Hierarchical clustering, multi-dimensional scaling (MDS), principal component analysis (PCA) and STRUCTURE. Comprehensive population genetic studies revealed that the 30-InDels assay was similarly efficient in forensic personal identification and could be regarded as an effective supplementary protocol for kinship testing.

Keywords: 1000 genomes project; Genetic population analysis; InDel; Investigator® DIPplex kit; Tibetan.