Forensic parameters of 10 Y-STR markers in the Nigerian Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba populations

Abstract

Y chromosome short tandem repeats, or Y-STRs, are interesting genetic markers suitable for identifying male offenders in forensic investigations because of the haploid nature of the human male determining chromosome. Furthermore, due to the non-recombining nature of the Y chromosome, Y-STRs are choice markers in paternity or kinship analysis, human evolutionary investigations, and population studies. The lack of reference Y-haplotype data for the populace currently hampers the use of these markers in forensic applications in Nigeria. In this study, the 10 Y-STR loci in the UniQTyperTM Y-10 system including DYS385ab, DYS447, DYS449, DYS481, DYS504, DYS518, DYS612, DYS626, DYS644 and DYS710 were studied in 461 males comprising 139 Hausa, 96 Igbo and 226 Yoruba ethnic populations. Sixty alleles were recorded for the pooled dataset across the 10 loci, with allele frequencies ranging from 0.0022 to 0.6052. There were 430 haplotypes detected, 403 unique (singletons), and 27 were shared. The discrimination capacity and haplotype diversity were 0.9330 and 0.9770, respectively. Allelic richness was highest in the locus DYS626 and lowest in DYS504. Private alleles were found in each group, with the Hausa population having the highest number. Duplications and microvariant alleles were also reported. These findings may be helpful for paternal lineage investigations, population genetics, and forensic applications among the Nigerian populations.