Heterozygous 21 STR loci and triplet alleles observed in population genetic analysis of the GlobalFiler STR loci in the Ghanaian population

Abstract

This study profiled 1047 volunteers using the GlobalFiler™ Kit from the four main ethnic groups in Ghana: the Akan (282), Mole-Dagomba and Northern ethnic minority (253), Ewe (250) and Ga-Dangbe ( 262), representing about 98.4% ethnic coverage of the Ghanaian population.The polymorphic nature of the African population was demonstrated during the profiling of the reference dataset with the occurrence of some rare triplet variant alleles. At the TPOX locus, three tri-allelic variants were found with the allelic patterns 6-8-10, 8-9-10 and 9-10-11. In addition, tri-allelic patterns were seen at D5S818 (11-13-14) and D3S1358 (15-16-17).Although the TPOX tri-allelic pattern has been reported in other populations including African, the D5S818; 11-13-14 has never been reported in an African population. It has however, been reported once with a frequency of 1 in 69,600 in a convicted offender case in the USA. The D3S1358; 15-16-17 pattern has not been reported in an African population.In conclusion, the occurrence of rare alleles is illustrative of the genetic diversity within the Ghanaian population. This was further illustrated by the presence of three individuals that were heterozygous at all 21 STR loci.

Haplogroup prediction in the Ghanaian population using haplotype data of 27 Yfiler® Plus loci and TaqMan SNP genotyping

“…The results of this study present a study of Y chromosome haplotypes in Ghana, samples were selected randomly from broad ethnic groups and profiled using commonly used autosomal and Y chromosome forensic markers [1]. The limited haplogroup diversity renders the haplogrouping of casework samples of limited value as it will add very little to the discriminatory levels obtained with STR markers.…”

“…Few forensic genetic studies have been conducted in sub-Saharan Africa. Presently, limited forensic genetic studies have been conducted in Ghana to characterise the population structure [1]. This study describes the use of the 27 loci Yfiler® Plus kit (Thermo Fisher Scientific, 2016) and TaqMan™ SNP genotyping to characterise and predict the haplogroup distribution in the four major ethnic populations of Ghana (Akan, Ewe, Ga-Adangbe and Mole-Dagomba).…”

Forensic DNA analysis and database governance in Ghana

“…There is currently an ongoing project at the University of Central Lancashire investigating the allele frequencies of the GlobalFiler STR loci among four major ethnic groups from Ghana: 282 Akans, 250 Ewes, 262 Ga-Dangbe and 253 Mole-Dagbon and Northern minority ethnic groups (Wepeba, Iyengar, and Goodwin, 2019). The results of this study will provide new STR population frequency data for the main ethnic groups.…”

“…To calculate a more accurate random match probability of profiles generated from crime scene traces and subject samples, forensic DNA scientists must have access to a representative allele frequency database (M'charek, 2000). In our literature search, we found six publications related to the STR allele frequencies, SNP and mtDNA haplotype frequencies of ethnic groups from Ghana (Fendt et al, 2012;Kofi et al, 2020;Poetsch et al, 2011;Sanchez-Faddeev et al, 2013b, 2013aWepeba, Iyengar, and Goodwin, 2019). These studies provide information that can be used for calculations in forensic casework to determine the significance of DNA evidence.…”