Different dynamics of gene flow and drift were observed among Mexican Native groups, highlighting the geographic barriers (mountains, canyons and jungle regions) as the main factor differentiating Pre-Hispanic populations, and eventually helping to avoid Post-European contact admixture and population bottleneck. Am J Phys Anthropol 160:298-316, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

We analyzed 238 unrelated Mestizo (admixed) individuals from the West region of Mexico with the PowerPlex® Fusion System (Promega Corp.). Allele frequencies and forensic parameters were estimated for the 23 STRs included in this kit. Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium by locus and non-association between pair of loci were demonstrated by exact tests in this population. The combined PE and PD offered by this HID kit were ≥0.9999999986, representing a substantial improvement with respect to those previously offered by 15 STR systems. Interpopulation comparison by AMOVA tests demonstrated low but significant differences among Mexican Mestizos from West, Center, and Northeast regions (Fst = 0.01558; p = 0.0000), similar to the observed among three main ethnic groups from USA (Fst = 0.02048; p = 0.0000). This finding is consistent with the contrary clines of European and Amerindian ancestries described throughout the Mexican territory for Mestizos, the largest population (~90 %) in this country.

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We analyzed Mestizo (admixed) population samples from different geographic regions of Mexico (n = 1283) with 20 autosomal STRs (PowerPlex® 21, Promega Corp.). Allele frequencies and forensic parameters from the Northwest, Northeast, West, Center, and Southeast regions are reported, as well as from the pooled Mexican population sample. The combined PD and PE for this 20 STR system were > 0.9999999999 and > 0.99999996593% in all five population samples, respectively. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) of these Mexican population samples, plus Monterrey (Northeast) and Mexico (Center) Cities, showed low but significant differences among Mexican-Mestizos from the seven populations (Fst = 0.20%; p = 0.0000). Structure analysis showed the highest proportion of Native American ancestry in Mexico City, Center, and Southeast regions, respectively, which was in agreement with the estimated genetic distances represented in a MDS plot and a NJ tree. The best fit of population clusters (K = 4) obtained with the Structure software indicates that Mexican-Mestizos are mainly composed by European, African, and two Native American ancestries. The European and Native American ancestries displayed a contrary gradient, increasing toward the North-West and South-Southeast, respectively. These 20 autosomal STR loci improved the admixture estimation regarding previous studies with the 13 CODIS-STRs, as supported by the higher similarity with previous estimates based on genome-wide SNP. In brief, this study validates the confident use of the PowerPlex® 21 system for human identification purposes in Mestizo populations throughout the Mexican territory.