Towards standardization of canine STRs: a proposed nomenclature for six markers from the ISAG comparison-test panel

Eight short tandem repeat markers included in the International Society for Animal Genetics panel of 24 loci investigated in canine comparison tests were analysed in a sample of pure-breed dogs, with the purpose of defining an allele nomenclature based on the number of repeats. A regression analysis of the raw data produced by the sequencer, coupled with the direct sequencing of selected alleles, allowed us to propose a system of nomenclature for six of the eight loci (four di-nucleotidic: AHT121, AHTh137, REN169018 and REN64E19, and two tetra-nucleotidic: FH2001 and FH2328). The remaining two loci (INU055 and FH2848) showed a pattern of fragments that did not resolve in a simple allele series. This work may be useful to establish a basis for comparing data across different laboratories for a set of validated canine markers, which can be used in population genetics, forensics and other analyses.