Genetic polymorphisms and phylogenetic characteristics of Tibeto-Burman-speaking Lahu population from southwest China based on 41 Y-STR loci.

Background: Male sex-linked Y-chromosome short tandem repeats (Y-STRs) have been widely used in forensic cases and population genetics research. At present, the forensic-related Y-STR data in the Chinese Lahu population are still poorly understood.

Aim: To enrich the available Y-STR data of this Chinese minority population and investigate its phylogenetic relationships with other reported populations.

Subjects and methods: The genetic polymorphisms of 41 Y-STR loci were analysed in 299 unrelated healthy Lahu male individuals from Southwest China. Phylogenetic analyses were performed by multidimensional scaling analysis and neighbor-joining phylogenetic tree construction.

Results: A total of 379 alleles were observed at the 41 Y-STR loci. The allele frequencies ranged from 0.0033 to 0.9666. The genetic diversity values ranged from 0.0653 to 0.9072. A total of 254 different haplotypes of the 41 Y-STR loci were observed in 299 individuals. The values of haplotype diversity, haplotype match probability, and discrimination capacity were 0.9987, 0.0047, and 0.8495, respectively. The phylogenetic analysis indicated that the Tibeto-Burman-speaking Lahu population showed a close genetic relationship with the Yunnan Yi population.

Conclusions: The haplotype data of the present study can enrich the forensic databases of this Chinese minority population and will be useful for population genetics and forensic DNA application.