HLA-DQ alpha genotype and allele frequencies in an Austrian population

The HLA-DQ alpha system is used to an increasing degree in forensic serology, for stain investigations, and paternity cases. Therefore samples which were taken from 85 unrelated persons living in Austria were examined. DNA was analyzed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification followed by hybridization to allele-specific oligonucleotide probes in a reversed dot-blot technique after extraction with phenol/chloroform. HLA-DQ alpha allele frequencies of German, Finnish, Dutch, British, Italian, Caucasian/USA and of Austrian populations were compared. Six common HLA-DQ alpha alleles are detectable. These alleles determine 21 possible genotypes. In our study 20 genotypes were obtained; the genotype 3/3 was not observed. The HLA-DQ alpha typing system using PCR-amplified DNA is a simple and rapid method for typing very small amounts of DNA and very old and/or degraded DNA. Therefore it is a helpful method in forensic casework.