[Forensic application of two short tandem repeat (STR) polymorphic markers, FES and HUMTH01]

This paper reports polymorphisms of two short tandem repeats (STR) in the human c-fes/proto-oncogene (FES) and the human tyrosine hydroxylase gene (HUMTH01), and their application to paternity cases. Genomic DNA samples from 213 unrelated Japanese individuals and from 30 paternity cases were subjected to the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and then the amplified products were electrophoresed in denaturing polyacrylamide sequencing gels. Allelic bands were detected with autoradiography. Seven alleles differing in the numbers of the repeat units were observed at both loci. Heterozygosity (%) and polymorphism information context were calculated, being 69% and 0.641 FES, and 70% and 0.647 for HUMTH01. The allele frequencies of the two STRs in this study were found to be similar to those previously reported on Asians but different from those in Caucasians and Blacks. When the STRs were applied to 30 paternity cases that had been already tested by using conventional markers, there were no discrepancies between the results of the STRs and of conventional markers. Furthermore, the two STRs could be successfully coamplified in multiplex PCR. These results suggest that the two STRs are useful in forensic work in Japan.