Italian population data on two new short tandem repeat loci: D2S1338 and Penta E

A population study on two new short tandem repeat (STR) loci D2S1338 (a tetranucleotide repeat) and Penta E (a pentanucleotide repeat) was performed on 208 unrelated Italian Caucasians. The DNA was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and separation and detection of the amplified STR fragments were carried out by use of a PE/ABD PRISM 377 DNA Sequencer 377 automated system (Applied Biosystems Division/Perkin-Elmer). Both loci meet Hardy-Weinberg expectations. There is no evidence for departures from expectations between the two loci. The combined Probability of Discrimination and Probability of Exclusion for the two STR loci are 0.999155 and 0.944925, respectively. The results demonstrate that these two regions can be useful for differentiating among individuals, particularly in concert with other STR loci.