Population genetics of 26 Y-STR loci for the Han ethnic in Hunan province, China

To study the population data of Y-chromosome STRs (Y-STRs) of Han population resided in Hunan province, we analyzed haplotypes of 26 Y-STRs (DYS19, DYS385a/b, DYS389I, DYS389II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, DYS393, DYS437, DYS438, DYS439, DYS448, DYS456, DYS458, DYS481, DYS533, DYS549, DYS570, DYS576, DYS635, DYS643, DYS388, DYS449, DYS460, and YGATAH4) in 310 unrelated male individuals using a commercially available Goldeneye® DNA ID 26Y system. The calculated average gene diversity values ranged from 0.4211 to 0.9590 for DYS438 and DYS385a/b loci, respectively. The discriminatory capacity was 96.77 % with 300 observed haplotypes. Population relationships between Hunan Han and eight other populations available from Y-chromosome haplotype reference database (YHRD) were compared. The results showed that the Han population resided in the Hunan district is significantly different from other populations. Our results also indicated that these 26 Y-STR loci were highly genetically polymorphic in the Hunan Han population and of great value in forensic application.