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Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) typing of ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) genes was performed with a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for species identification. A variable region of the 28S ribosomal RNA gene was amplified with primers complementary to flanking sequences phylogenetically well conserved. The products of twelve animal DNAs (human, Japanese monkey, dog, cattle, pig, cat, rabbit, mouse, rat, chicken, frog, and fish) were separated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, each revealing a few bands ranging from 150 to 100 base pairs. The band patterns obtained from each DNA sample differed in number and size, which indicates the applicability of the method to species identification. Samples containing either as little as 1 pg of DNA or degraded DNA of 0.2 to 0.5 kb in length were able to give detectable bands. Postmorten human tissue DNAs were tested as an example. They showed a pattern identicial to the human control one, which was distinct from those of the other animals examined.

To estimate Y-chromosomal short tandem repeat (Y-STR) mutation rates, 15 loci (i.e., DYS19, DYS389 I/II, DYS390, and DYS393; DYS437, DYS438, DYS439, and DYS385; DYS391, DYS392, YCA II, and DXYS156) were analyzed in a sample of 1,029 father/son pairs from Westphalia, northwestern Germany. Among 15,435 meiotic allele transfers, 32 mutations were observed; thus, the mutation rate across all 15 Y-STR loci was 2.1 x 10(-3) per locus (95% C.I.: 1.5-3.0 x 10(-3)). With the exception of a three-repeat mutation at DYS385, all remaining mutations were single repeat mutations. Repeat losses were more frequent than gains (20:12), and the mutation rate appeared to increase with age. The Y haplogroups that were detected in the individuals showing a mutation reflect the haplogroup distribution in the Westphalian population. Additionally, the correlation of surnames and haplotypes was tested: Only 49 surnames occurred more than once, and only two men with the same rare surname shared the same haplotype. All other men with identical surnames carried different haplotypes.

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