AIM To study the distribution of allele frequencies of 15 short tandem repeat (STR) loci in a representative sample of Croatian population. METHODS A total of 195 unrelated Caucasian individuals born in Croatia, from 14 counties and the City of Zagreb, were sampled for the analysis. All the tested individuals were voluntary donors. Buccal swab was used as the DNA source. AmpFlSTR Identifiler ...

OBJECTIVES This preliminary study was carried out to determine the allele frequencies and forensic efficiency parameters for the short tandem repeat loci CSF1PO, TPOX, THO1, D16S539, D7S820, D13S317, vWA, FESFPS and F13B in a test sample population of Sri Lankans. DESIGN Test samples were obtained from 305 non-related individuals originating from all 9 provinces of Sri Lanka. DNA was extracte...

We characterize thirteen polymorphic microsatellite loci isolated from Naja atra genomic libraries, which were enriched for AC-motif microsatellites. The thirteen loci were screened on a group of 48 individuals from two populations, one in Yong'an and the other in Ganzhou. These markers revealed a relatively high degree of genetic diversity (4-12 alleles per locus) and heterozygosity (Ho ranged...

This study was conducted to evaluate the porcine gene GADD45A (growth arrest and DNA-damage-inducible protein 45 alpha) as a positional candidate controlling quantitative trait loci (QTL) for meat quality traits on chromosome 6 (SSC6). Four exons of the porcine GADD45A gene were defined from cDNA and BAC clone sequences. A total of 4 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified in por...

BACKGROUND Heat shock proteins protect cells and tissues against different types of damage. Previous studies have revealed that the serum level of heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) increases in sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) patients. We hypothesized that genetic variants of the HSP70 gene are associated with susceptibility to SSNHL. METHODS We conducted a case-control study with 160 S...

OBJECTIVES Polymyositis (PM) and dermatomyositis (DM) form part of the idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs). The chemokine monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) is expressed at sites of the T cell inflammatory response in the IIMs. We thus investigate whether genetic markers in the MCP-1 gene confer disease susceptibility for the development of PM and DM. METHODS DNA samples were analys...

The future of genetic studies of complex human diseases will rely more and more on the epidemiologic association paradigm. The author proposes to scan the genome for disease-susceptibility gene(s) by testing for deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in a gene bank of affected individuals. A power formula is presented, which is very accurate as revealed by Monte Carlo simulations. If the dis...