Expanding the Swiss autosomal marker set to 32 STRs

Area of Science:

• Forensic genetics
• Population genetics

Background:

• Autosomal short tandem repeat (STR) loci are crucial for human identification and kinship analysis.
• Existing STR datasets require continuous expansion to improve forensic casework resolution.

Purpose of the Study:

• To expand the Swiss autosomal STR dataset by including 32 loci.
• To establish high-quality allele frequency data for novel STR loci.
• To contribute valuable genetic resources to forensic databases.

Main Methods:

• Genotyping of 1198 individuals using the Qiagen Investigator® HDplex Kit.
• Analysis and compilation of allele frequency data for 32 autosomal STR loci.

Main Results:

• An expanded Swiss autosomal STR dataset comprising 32 loci.
• The first high-quality allele frequency dataset for STR loci D2S1360, D5S2500, D7S1517, and D10S2325.
• The first European STRidER dataset for STR loci D3S1744, D4S2366, D6S474, D8S1132, and D21S2055.

Conclusions:

• The expanded dataset provides enhanced resources for complex kinship cases in Switzerland.
• Newly generated allele frequency data will improve the accuracy and reliability of forensic DNA profiling.
• The inclusion of novel loci in the STRidER database benefits European forensic genetics research.