Profiling of 17 Y-STR loci in Mazandaran and Gilan provinces of Iran

BACKGROUND/AIM: The Y-chromosome mainly consists of heterochromatin regions that have a father-to-son inheritance. Short tandem repeat polymorphic (STRP) markers distributed all over the chromosome provide the opportunity for investigations in forensic medicine and ancestral lineage studies. Due to the existence of wide varieties of geographical and ethnic groups in Iran, studying Y-STRP markers is necessary for further applications. Here we investigated the provinces of Mazandaran and Gilan for the first time. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Samples included 119 and 90 unrelated males from Mazandaran and Gilan, respectively. Using a PCR amplification kit, 17 Y-STRP markers were amplified and genotyping was conducted by capillary electrophoresis. Allele frequency, haplotype diversity (HD), and haplotype discrimination capacity (DC) were calculated. The populations were compared together and to neighboring countries including Afghanistan and Azerbaijan by F(ST) index. RESULTS: A total of 204 unique haplotypes were observed. No uniqueness was observed between the two provinces. HD was 0.9993 and 0.9998 in Mazandaran and Gilan, respectively. DC was 0.9666 and 0.9888 for Mazandaran and Gilan, respectively. DYS385b and DYS391 had the most and least polymorphic content in both provinces, respectively. There was not a significant difference between these two provinces (F(ST) = 0.0006 and P = 0.00) and neighboring countries. CONCLUSION: The results highlight the effectiveness of these Y-STRP markers for male discrimination in the north of Iran. Using additional markers along with extended sample size would provide a better opportunity for removing matched haplotypes and introducing the best polymorphic markers in this specific population.