Abstract:

Objective     To investigate genetic polymorphisms in Wa and Bulang populations in Shuangjiang County, Yunnan Province, and to evaluate their forensic application values and genetic relationships among other populations. Methods      Fifteen STR loci included in the Power PLex 16 system Kit were amplified. The PCR products were analyzed by ABI Prism 3100 Genetic Analyzer. Forensic parameters of the two minorities were obtained, and genetic distances between Wa, Bulang and other populations were calculated by STR loci included in the CODIS system. Results     In Wa and Bulang populations, the 15 STR loci were polymorphic. In genetic distance analysis, the distance between Wa and Bulang was the nearest (0.0110). The other distances were as follows: 0.0302, between Wa and Buryat; 0.0243, between Wa and Ewenke; 0.0343, between Bulang and Buryat; and 0.0309, between Bulang and Ewenke. The genetic distances of Wa and Bulang with Han populations were both near. The distance was 0.0140 between Wa and Han populations in Zhengjiang Province, and 0.0124 between Bulang and Han populations in Anhui Province.Conclusions     The 15 STR loci were polymorphic in Wa and Bulang, which could provide a powerful discrimination tool for forensic applications. The investigations of genetic distances between different populations are useful to study their origins,migrations and genetic relationships.

Key words: Short tandem repeats; Genetic polymorphism; Phylogenetic tree; Wa population; Bulang population