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On the Subtle Southern Polish Population Subdivision

NCJ Number
226632
Journal
Problems of Forensic Sciences Volume: 51 Dated: 2007 Pages: 265-279
Author(s)
Paulina Wolanska-Nowak
Date Published
2007
Length
15 pages
Annotation
Given the possible genetic differentiation between an innocent suspect’s population and the actual perpetrator’s population, which might influence the value of DNA evidence, this study examined the extent of this possible genetic differentiation for some geographically isolated populations of highlanders from the southern Polish population.
Abstract
Study results indicated that the total population was in close agreement with the Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium (HWE). Observed deviations from HWE indicate that there might be a real, although weakly expressed, population substructure. The other probable reason for deviations from HWE is inbreeding. The mean value of the coancestry coefficient fixation index (Fst) is 0.0039, and it is relatively higher than the values obtained in the analysis of a larger Polish population sample. This suggests a subtle differentiation of the southern Poland population; however, the obtained value of the Fst parameter has a limited influence on the frequency of common DNA profiles, but it is more marked in cases of rare DNA profiles. Even in this case, however, it was not significant for forensic practice due to the high discriminatory power of the panel of SGM Plus loci. Still, application of the population-specific coancestry coefficient to the calculation of match probability would be appropriate and beneficial for the defendant. Another reason for the weakly expressed differentiation of analyzed population could be the low sensitivity of the panel of SGM Plus loci used to detect possible population heterogeneity. This would require a further precise population study with the use of more informative markers, such as short tandem repeats (STRs) located on the Y chromosome or appropriate single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). 1 figure, 5 tables and 28 references