Y Chromosome STR Typing

Because of their unique transmission properties and male specificity, markers located on the nonrecombining region of the Y chromosome (NRY) have become an important tool in forensic investigation. In the past few years, more than 50 polymorphic Y chromosome-specific short tandem repeats (STRs) have been described and a set of 9 loci were selected, considered as the minimal haplotype included in the forensic databases, Y-STR Haplotype Reference Databases, the largest now available online (http:// www.yhrd.org). Here, we describe a multiplex amplification strategy developed for ABI platforms to amplify the nine loci included in the minimal haplotype (DYS19, DYS385a/b, DYS389I, DYS389II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, DYS393) as well as a second set of markers (DYS437, DYS438, DYS439, DYS460, DYS461, GATA A10, GATA C4, and GATA H4) used to improve the minimal haplotype diversity and, hence, the discrimination power. Together, these 17 Y-STRs can be used to define highly discriminative haplotypes, providing a powerful tool in male lineage identification.