Allelic and haplotype frequencies of Y chromosome STRs in a random population of Iranian males

The Y chromosome simple tandem repeats (STRs)، residing out of the pseudo-autosomal region، pass down through the father to the male offspring، represent suitable markers for evolutionary studies and tracing human migration through male lineage as well as paternity testing and forensic genetics. In this study the common Y chromosome STRs polymorphisms were investigated among 100 unrelated male individuals that were selected randomly from Tehran population; the sample can roughly (at least in providing a general profile of existing YSTR alleles and haplotypes) be a good representative of Iran''s general population due to the mixed nature of the people living in Tehran. Using a PCR based approach، the polymorphisms of nine Y chromosome specific STR markers، including DYS19، DYS385a/b، DYS389I/II، DYS390، DYS391، DYS392، and DYS393، were investigated. These markers are defined as the European Minimal Haplotypes (EMH). The PCR products were run on a 1. 5% agarose gel، followed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis for further resolution as minor differences in repeat numbers might not be resolved by conventional agarose gel electrophoresis. Gene Diversity (GD)، which is a measure of allelic polymorphism، calculated for each marker. DYS385 was shown to be the most polymorphic allele and DYS391 showed the lowest polymorphism in this study. Haplotypes Diversity (HD)، calculated for assessment of haplotypes distributions، found to be over 0. 999. This may warrant applying some of Y-STR markers possibly in forensics، paternity testing and also in comparative studies among different ethnic groups of Iran as well as for further application in global studies due to diversity of ethnic groups residing in Iran.