15 STR loci frequencies in the population from Santa Catarina, Southern Brazil

Allele frequencies for 15 short tandem repeats (STR) loci were determined with a sample of 3000 unrelated individuals from the population of Santa Catarina, Southern Brazil. The loci are most commonly used in forensic and paternity testing, being analyzed by the Powerplex 16 (Promega) commercial kit. The data shows that most polymorphic loci were Penta E and FGA. The distributions of the genotypes in the evaluated loci are in Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium. Comparative analyses between our population data and other Brazilian populations are presented. The calculated forensic parameters showed that the loci are useful for the solution of forensic problems in Brazilian Southern region.     

Allele frequencies and haplotypes of 8 Y-chromosomal STRs in the Santa Catarina population of southern Brazil

Allele frequencies and haplotypes of eight Y-chromosomal short tandem repeats (STRs), DYS19, DYS385, DYS389 I, DYS389 II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392 and DYS393 were determined in a sample of 109 males from Santa Catarina. The origin of this southern Brazilian population is mainly from Portuguese people, namely from Azores archipelago.     

Population distribution of six PCR-amplified loci in Madeira Archipelago (Portugal).

Frequency data of the short tandem repeat (STR) loci HUMTH01, HUMVWA31/A, HUMF13A1, HUMFES/FPS, D12S391 and HUMFIBRA/FGA were determined in blood stains obtained from a population of unrelated individuals from the Madeira Archipelago. The observed genotype distribution showed no significant deviation from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and there was no evidence for association of alleles among the six loci. Population data showed a combined discrimination power of 0.9999998 and a chance of exclusion of 0.99597. The frequencies are similar to those of other compared caucasian populations but significant differences were found between the Madeira population and Japanese, Chinese, Greenland Eskimos and Quechua Amerindians. The six loci studied, together proved to be highly discriminating and valuable for forensic cases.     

The politics of indigenous land rights Brazil

Brazilian indigenous rights policy has been exclusionary. As a result indigenous people and their supporters have mobilised and politicised indigenous issues. Politicisation led to inclusion of indigenous rights in the 1988 Constitution. Nevertheless, evidence suggests that this process led to a retrenchment of interests opposed to indigenous rights. This analysis compares the asymmetric access to the policy‐formation process granted to political and economic interests and indigenous people. The argument is that democratisation has yet to open the policy‐making process to disenfranchised groups such as indigenous people. To illustrate the argument evidence of setbacks to indigenous land rights is examined.     

AmpFlSTR MiniFiler™ PCR amplification kit: The new miniSTR multiplex kit

The AmpFlSTR^® MiniFiler™ PCR amplification kit (Applied Biosystems), a new available 8-miniSTR and the sex determining marker Amelogenin multiplex, includes the most common problematic loci (above 200 bp) of the AmpFlSTR^® Identifiler™ PCR amplification kit: FGA, D21S11, D18S51, D13S317, D7S820, D16S539, CSF1PO and D2S1338.Several casework samples with different DNA contents were tested.Results allowed to complete partial Identifiler™ profiles and additional information was achieved in low copy number (LCN) samples, revealing that this miniSTR kit can improve identification of compromised samples.     

Results of the GEP-ISFG collaborative study on the Y chromosome STRs GATA A10, GATA C4, GATA H4, DYS437, DYS438, DYS439, DYS460 and DYS461: population data

The Spanish and Portuguese ISFG Working Group (GEP-ISFG) carried out a collaborative exercise in order to asses the performance of two Y chromosome STR tetraplexes, which include the loci DYS461, GATA C4, DYS437 and DYS438 (GEPY I), and DYS460, GATA A10, GATA H4 and DYS439 (GEPY II). The groups that reported correct results in all the systems were also asked to analyse a population sample in order to evaluate the informative content of these STRs in different populations. A total of 1020 males out of 13 population samples from Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Macao, Mozambique, Portugal and Spain were analysed for all the loci included in the present study. Haplotype and allele frequencies of these eight Y-STRs were estimated in all samples. The lowest haplotype diversity was found in the Lara (Argentina) population (95.44%) and the highest (99.90%) in Macao (China). Pairwise haplotype analysis showed the relative homogeneity of the Iberian origin samples, in accordance with what was previously found in the European populations for other Y-STR haplotypes (http://www.ystr.org). As expected, the four non-Caucasian samples, Macao (Chinese), Mozambique (Africans), Costa Rica (Africans) and Argentina (Lara, Amerindians), show highly significant Phist values in the pairwise comparisons with all the Caucasian samples.