Mitochondrial DNA control region variation in a population sample from Thailand

Dirk Christopher Sauer,Sabine Lutz-Bonengel,Uta-Dorothee Immel,Jana Naue

doi:10.1007/s00414-020-02303-2

Abstract

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region sequences from hair samples of 213 individuals from Thailand were analyzed using Sanger sequencing. A total of 170 different haplotypes were identified, of which 146 occurred only once (unique haplotypes). The dataset showed a random match probability of 0.87% and a haplotype diversity of 0.9960. The samples were assigned to 85 different haplogroups with B5a, F1a1a, and M being the most frequent ones. Pairwise FST-values between this and other Southeast and East Asian populations revealed significant but relatively low differences, indicating a close relation. Heteroplasmic positions were observed in 12.2% of hair samples confirming the frequent appearance of heteroplasmic positions in hairs. This dataset will complement existing data as an mtDNA reference for forensic investigations.

Highlights

Mitochondrial DNA analysis has become a routine approach in forensic casework where STR markers cannot be used
Given that the population of Thailand is composed of different ethnolinguistic groups [6], a regional population sample cannot be considered to be representative for the whole country
We present a population dataset of 213 individ- by the Ethics Committee of the University of Freiburg, uals living in all four major regions of Thailand

Summary

Introduction

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis has become a routine approach in forensic casework where STR markers cannot be used. MtDNA data from Thailand has already been published [1,2,3,4,5]. These datasets either are limited to SNPs in the mitochondrial hypervariable regions 1 and 2 [1] or the collection strategy focuses on a different priority, such as language [2,3,4]. Given that the population of Thailand is composed of different ethnolinguistic groups [6], a regional population sample cannot be considered to be representative for the whole country

Methods

Results

Conclusion