Este trabalho tem como objetivo a determinação da freqüência alélica de 12 microssatélites do cromossomo Y na população de Araraquara e da Grande São Paulo, tendo em vista a necessidade de ampliação dos dados referentes a estes marcadores devido a sua crescente aplicação em diferentes áreas, entre elas a forense na qual a utilização destes microssatélites torna-se muitas vezes a única ferramenta disponível para resolução de casos. Para isto foram tipados 200 indivíduos, que não apresentavam relação de parentesco, divididos em quatro grupos de acordo com autoclassificação de cor (branco, preto, pardo ou oriental). Foram coletadas destes indivíduos amostras de sangue ou saliva a partir das quais foi feita extração do DNA utilizando diferentes protocolos de acordo com o tipo de amostra, seguida da amplificação dos 12 locos do cromossomo Y através do PowerPlex® Y System (Promega) de acordo com instruções do fabricante. Os produtos da amplificação foram submetidos a eletroforese em gel de poliacrilamida desnaturante a 6%, no seqüenciador ABI377 (Applied Biosystems) para obtenção dos perfis de cada loco. Os quais foram analisados com a utilização do software GeneScan ver. 2.1 (Applied Biosystems). Foi realizado o cálculo das freqüências alélicas e diversidade gênica de cada loco, assim como da diversidade haplotípica e capacidade de discriminação para cada grupo e para a amostra total. A comparação entre os resultados obtidos demonstrou que a variação dentro de cada grupo é maior que a variação entre os grupos. Os resultados obtidos foram enviados ao banco de dados mundial do cromossomo Y (Y-STR Haplotype Reference Database). / The aim of this study is to determine the allelic frequency of 12 microsatellites of the Y chromosome in Grande São Paulo and Araraquara population, in face of the amplification necessity of these markers data due to the increasing application of these markers on different fields, including the forensic on which the use of them is sometimes the only way to solve crime cases. For this purpose it was typed 200 unrelated individuals divided according to self report in four groups based on color skin (white, black, mulatto or yellow). Blood or buccal swab samples were collected and submitted to DNA extraction with different protocols according to the kind of sample. Subsequent amplification of 12 Y-STR was proceeded using the PowerPlex® Y System (Promega) following the manufacture’s protocol. The amplification products were submitted to electrophoresis in 6% polyacrilamid gel on ABI377 sequencer (Applied Biosystems) to obtain the profile of each locus. The results were analyzed with GeneScan ver. 2.1 software (Applied Biosystems). The allelic frequency and gene diversity of each locus as well as the haplotypic diversity and discrimination capacity was calculated for each group and for total sample. The comparison among the results showed that the variation inside the groups is higher than between groups. The haplotypes observed on this sample were sent to Y-STR Haplotype Reference Database.

The application of Y-chromosome analysis is expanding in fields such as forensic science and genealogy. By researching the potential polymorphisms this chromosome can present, we can further our ability to assess DNA profiles for these disciplines to avoid erroneous exclusions of paternal linkage, wrongful convictions based on forensic evidence, and other misinformed genetic conclusions. The conservation of Y-haplotypes during transmission occurs due to a relative lack of genetic recombination events in the inheritance of the Y-chromosome [1]. However, random mutation events can occur in a paternal line resulting in haplotype changes. These changes can include allele duplications and deletions that occur at the STR and SNP loci used in forensic DNA analysis. This can become important in cases of sexual assault where male-female mixture samples have low amounts of male DNA such that the male signal is not amplified in currently used STR multiplexes [7]. In this study, we analyzed a father and his eleven sons using two different methodologies for genetic analysis; next generation sequencing and capillary electrophoresis. The samples were obtained from the Coriell Institute for Medical Research located in Hamden, NJ, in the form of frozen DNA extracts isolated from a blood-sourced lymphocyte cell culture [22]. DNA from these samples was tested with the ForenSeqTM DNA Signature Prep Kit [14] (Verogen, San Diego, CA) primer set A and the YFilerTM Plus PCR Amplification Kit [24] (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, MA). Using these two platforms, three Y-STR loci were identified as discordant between the father and all of his eleven sons. In all three instances, the father possessed the same allele as the sons as well as one additional allele. At two of these loci (DYS449 and DYS635), the additional allele was one repeat (4bp) longer than that of the shared allele. At the other locus (DYS458), the additional allele was three repeats (12bp) longer than that of the shared allele. Following read count and peak height analysis, it was concluded that these double allele loci are not the product of stutter and are potentially the product of a non-inheritable mutation. With the knowledge that the DNA was extracted from a blood lymphocyte cell culture, it is believed that a somatic mutation may be present in the cell line. We are not able to determine whether the mutations exist in the blood of the father (true somatic mutations) or occurred as a result of the cell culture process. Throughout the study, details concerning the position of these loci on the Y-chromosome, the repeat motifs of the alleles, and the potential for duplication and/or stutter as the originating event are discussed in an effort to further understand this phenomenon. Potential locus duplications were compared to those reported on the National Institute of Standards and Technology STRBase [21] list of allele variations and also to information found in literature. The observed DYS635 locus had an allele designation of 21,22 which is reported on STRBase. The DYS449 and DYS458 loci showed potential allele-specific locus duplications that were not found on STRBase. The implications of potentially undocumented non-inheritable allele patterns in the Y-chromosome, such as this, are significant when considering comparisons between DNA obtained from germline cells (sperm) versus a known casework sample which is usually obtained from blood or saliva [7].