Genetic diversity and phylogenetic characteristics of 38 Y-STR Loci in Lisu population from Kunming, Yunnan Province, Southwest China

Y-Chromosomal short tandem repeat polymorphism (Y-STR) plays an important role in forensic practice due to its unique patrilineal inheritance pattern. Y-STRs of male individuals from different regions differ in terms of relevant forensic parameters and phylogenetic relationships. Although a large number of scholars have reported studies on the Y-STRs of different groups in different regions, there are still insufficient data on the Y-STR population genetics of the Lisu population in Kunming. To enrich the relevant research, a total of 801 healthy male participants from the Lisu ethnic group in Kunming, Yunnan Province, Southwest China, were included in this study. The DeepTyper Y41 Human DNA Typing Kit was used to co-amplify the 38 Y-STR loci. Haplotypes and associated forensic parameters were analyzed. Multidimensional scaling and neighbor-joining (N-J) phylogenetic tree were performed to complete the phylogenetic analyses based on the genetic distance (Rst) values in the Y-STR Haplotype Reference Database. 656 haplotypes were observed among the 801 male individuals. The value of haplotype diversity, haplotype matching probability and discrimination capacity was 0.9991, 0.0022 and 0.8190, respectively. Phylogenetic analyses showed that the Kunming Lisu population was closer to the Yunnan Han, the Liangshan Yi and the Yunnan Dai in phylogenetic relationship. Overall, this study enriches the research on population genetics on Y-STRs in Chinese ethnic minorities. The data can be utilized for population genetics and forensic research, specifically in the construction of genealogical databases.