Genetic characteristics and ancestry inference ability analyses of 57 InDel loci in Hezhou Han population

Abstract

Abstract The Han nationality is widely distributed in different regions, and it is one of the most populous ethnic groups in China. Han individuals dwelled in Guangxi as a part of Chinese Han population have relatively less research than minorities who live in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. In this study, the genetic polymorphisms of 57 autosomes InDel loci were explored in Hezhou Han (HZH) population. Forensic-related parameters revealed that these 57 InDel loci had high forensic validities, and they could be used in forensic practice research. In addition, the genetic relationships between the HZH population and 30 worldwide reference populations were explored using a variety of analytical methods such as phylogenetic tree, principal component analyses and structure analyses, and the results demonstrated that there were closer genetic relationships between the HZH and nine populations of East Asia. The prediction accuracy rate of five inter-continental cross-validation analyses for individuals from East Asia were higher than 0.9, and the prediction accuracy rate of three inter-continental cross-validation analyses for individuals from East Asia, Europe and Africa were all greater than 0.95. In addition, 24 of the 57 InDel loci were ancestral inferred loci that could well distinguish individuals of East Asia, Europe and Africa. In conclusion, these loci could be used not only as a good tool for individual identification and paternity testing in HZH population, but also as an auxiliary tool for ancestry inference studies.