Investigation of 12 X-STR loci in Mongolian and Eastern Han populations of China with comparison to other populations.

Due to the unique inheritance pattern, X-chromosomal short tandem repeats (X-STRs) have several advantages in complex kinship cases, such as deficiency cases or grandparent-grandchild and half-sisters testing. In our study, 541 unrelated individuals gathered from Mongolian and Eastern Chinese Han populations were successfully genotyped using the Investigator Argus X-12 kit. We calculated allele/haplotype frequencies and other forensic parameters of the two populations and further explored their genetic distance with already published Chinese populations and six global populations. Our results showed that the 12 X-STR markers were highly informative in the two populations when compared with nine other Chinese populations: significant differences were found at several loci. Geographically neighboring populations or different ethnic groups within the same area appeared to have closer evolutionary relationships. We also analyzed population genetic structure by performing clustering with the STRUCTURE program and Principal Coordinate Analysis (PCoA), and we found that the Chinese and other populations enrolled in this study could be distinguished. Furthermore, Mongolian males were distinguishable from the other studied males by a moderate genetic distance. Our study also expanded the X-STR database, which could facilitate the appropriate application of the 12 X-STR markers in the forensic field in China.