OBJECTIVETo get the genotype and allele frequency distributions of 8 short tandem repeat (STR) loci on chromosome 3p (D3S1297, D3S1489, D3S1266, D3S1568, D3S1289, D3S1300, D3S1285 and D3S3681) in Chinese Han population in Hunan area.

METHODSBlood samples were collected from the random Han individuals in Hunan and the whole genomic DNA was extracted. STR loci were amplified by multiplex-PCR technique and genotyped by ABI 377 sequencer.

RESULTSNinety-one alleles were detected, with frequencies ranging from 0.002 to 0.431, and these alleles constituted 312 genotypes. All the 8 loci met Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The statistical analysis of 8 STR loci showed the heterozygosity (H) >or= 0.729, the discrimination power (DP) >or= 0.725, the probabilities of paternity exclusion (PPE) >or= 0.596, and the polymorphic information content (PIC >or= 0.682). The result indicated that there was a significant difference between Han ethnic group and the white and the black.

CONCLUSIONThese results could serve as valuable data to enrich the Chinese genetic database and play an important role in Chinese population genetic and forensic medical application.