Diversity of 26-locus Y-STR haplotypes in a Nepalese population sample: isolation and drift in the Himalayas
Parkin EJ, Kraayenbrink T, Opgenort JR, van Driem GL, Tuladhar NM, de Knijff P, Jobling MA.
Department of Genetics, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK.
Twenty-six Y-chromosomal short tandem repeat (STR) loci were amplified in a sample of 769 unrelated males from Nepal, using two multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays. The 26 loci gave a discriminating power of 0.997, with 59% unique haplotypes, and the highest frequency haplotype occurring 12 times. We identified novel alleles at four loci, microvariants at a further two, and nine examples of amelogenin-Y deletions (1.2%). Comparison with a similarly sized Bhutanese sample typed with the same markers suggested histories of isolation and drift, with drift having a greater effect in Bhutan. Extended (11-locus) haplotypes for the Nepalese samples have been submitted to the Y-STR Haplotype Reference Database (YHRD).