Abstract

Y-chromosome short tandem repeats (Y-STRs) are specialized class of short tandem repeats located on human Y (male) chromosomes and are passed unchanged (barring a mutation) from one generation to the next. They are widely used in population genetic studies, forensics, paternity and genealogical DNA testing. The non-recombining nature of these loci makes them to have high discriminatory capacities among individuals of the same population or ethnicity. This is because they are polymorphic and exhibit high mutation rates. For Y-STR data to be applicable in forensics, knowledge of the haplotype frequencies in a geographic or ethnic substructure is required. DNA was extracted from peripheral blood sample of 110 unrelated Yoruba males, who have consented to participate in the research by signing the informed consent form, using conventional method. Five