The DYS19 system in the Japanese population and its detection using teeth as a source of DNA

The Y-specific short tandem repeat (STR) polymorphism of the locus DYS19 was amplified by PCR and analyzed by denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis followed by silver staining. Among 119 DNA samples from Japanese males, five alleles were observed. When sequences of the products were compared, each allelic segment contained 13 to 17 GATA tetranucleotide repeats, and revealed no differences from the known allele (GenBank X77751) other than the number of tetranucleotide repeats. The most common allele in the Japanese population was allele 15, and the distribution of the alleles did not differ from the data from other regions in Japan but did differ from those of Caucasians. Amplification of the locus using 12 tooth samples as a source of DNA matched the patterns obtained from blood samples.