Allele frequency distribution of four PCR-amplified loci in the Spanish population

The allele frequency distributions of four VNTR loci amplified by PCR have been studied in a population of 205 individuals from Spain. The loci analysed are D1S80 and three STRs: HUMTH01, HUMFES/FPS and HUMACTBF2 (SE33). The former was visualized in Metaphor agarose gels, and the STRs in sequencing polyacrylamide gels under denaturing conditions which could separate alleles with differences of a single base. This is of particular importance in the HUMTH01 locus, a tetrameric STR in which two alleles (9.3 and 10) were detected differing in a single base. Furthermore, HUMACTBP2 has at least 30 alleles, some of which may vary by as little as one base. At this locus a variation in the allele mobility was observed, depending on the electrophoretic conditions. For this reason, there should be careful consideration before this marker is accepted and validated as a common interlaboratory system. This paper does not include any comparison of the frequencies obtained for this locus with other recent studies. For the rest of the loci, the frequencies found have been compared with other published population studies; they show a degree of difference, particularly in the D1S80 locus. Finally, the systems were tested for Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, and some statistical parameters of forensic interest were calculated.