Development of three X-linked tetrameric microsatellite markers for forensic purposes

In this study, we obtained sequence and population genetic data for three X-linked short tandem repeat markers (X-STRs; DXS7129, DXS2500, G10583). We investigated their population genetics and estimated their forensic parameters in 214 healthy unrelated individuals from the Han population of Northern China (105 males and 109 females). We showed that DXS2500 and G10583 were highly polymorphic and thus have potential for application in forensic medicine. We also estimated the overall linkage disequilibrium between pairs of loci, specific multiallelic or interallelic associations, and haplotype frequencies in males. We showed that the three X-STR loci segregate as stable haplotype blocks; this could be a powerful tool for haplotype analysis in kinship testing.