ISSN 4521-9745
Journal of Demography and Population Studies, Vol. 7 (1), pp. 001-005, January, 2022. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Determination of allele frequencies in nine short tandem repeat loci of five human sub-populations in Botswana
Mpoloka S.W.1, Kgotlele T.1 and Wally A.2.
1Department of Biological Sciences, University of Botswana, P/Bag 00704, Gaborone, Botswana.
2Botswana Police Forensic Science Laboratory P/Bag 0012, Gaborone, Botswana.
Accepted 15 October, 2021
Abstract
Allele frequencies for nine short tandem repeat (STR) loci from the AmpFlSTR® Profiler Plus PCR Amplification Kit were determined in five subpopulations across Botswana and tested for suitability for use in individual identification. DNA was extracted from whole blood samples collected from 150 unrelated individuals. Targeted regions of DNA (vWA, FGA, D3S1358, D5S818, D7S820, D8S1179, D13S317, D18S51, D21S11 and the sex determining locus Amelogenin) were amplified using multiplexed PCR. The alleles showed a high degree of polymorphism, with heterozygosity above 67%, indicating that there is no significant inbreeding within the subpopulations. Matching probability was below 0.2 hence power of discrimination was high, indicating that the alleles from the five sub-populations can be used in human identifications. The present study is the first reported attempt at determining allele frequencies of subpopulations in Botswana and could possibly be used in developing a national DNA database.
Key words: DNA typing, short tandem repeat (STR), polymerase chain reaction, allele frequency, Botswana.