title: The genetic structure of native Americans in North America based on the Globalfiler® STRs.
abstract: Current forensic STR databases, such as CODIS, lack population genetic data on Native American populations. Information from a geographically diverse array of tribes is necessary to provide improved statistical estimates of the strength of associations with DNA evidence. The Globalfiler® STR markers were used to characterize the genetic structure of ten tribal populations from seven geographic regions in North America, including those not presently represented in forensic databases. Samples from the Arctic region, Baja California, California/Great Basin, the Southeast, Mexico, the Midwest, and the Southwest were analyzed for allele frequencies, observed and expected heterozygosities, and F-statistics. The tribal samples exhibited an FSTor θ value above the conservative 0.03 estimate recommended by the National Research Council (NRC) for calculating random match probabilities among Native Americans. The greater differentiation among tribal populations computed here (θ=0.04) warrants the inclusion of additional regional Native American samples into STR databases.
authors.affiliation: Forensic Science Graduate Program, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
authors.forename: Kelly L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: McCulloh
authors.affiliation: Molecular Anthropology Laboratory, Department of Anthropology, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
authors.forename: Jillian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.affiliation: Molecular Anthropology Laboratory, Department of Anthropology, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
authors.forename: Robert F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Oldt
authors.affiliation: Forensic Science Graduate Program, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
authors.forename: Jessica A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Weise
authors.affiliation: Sacramento County District Attorney's Crime Laboratory, 4800 Broadway Suite 200, Sacramento, CA 95820, USA.
authors.forename: Joy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Viray
authors.affiliation: University of North Texas Health Science Center, 3500 Camp Bowie Boulevard, Fort Worth, TX 76107, USA; Center of Excellence in Genomic Medicine Research (CEGMR), King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Bruce
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Budowle
authors.affiliation: Forensic Science Graduate Program, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA; Molecular Anthropology Laboratory, Department of Anthropology, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Glenn Smith
authors.affiliation: Forensic Science Graduate Program, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA; Molecular Anthropology Laboratory, Department of Anthropology, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA; California National Primate Research Center, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA. Electronic address: sree.kanthaswamy@asu.edu.
authors.forename: Sreetharan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kanthaswamy
mesh_terms: D041322:Chromosomes, Human, Y; D030541:Databases, Genetic; D044707:Forensic Sciences; D005828:Genetics, Population; D005843:Geography; D006801:Humans; D007198:Indians, North American / Q000235:genetics*; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats / Q000235:genetics*; D009656:North America
keywords: Forensic science; Geography; Native Americans; North America; Population genetics; Short tandem repeats