Population genetic data for eight STR loci in the south of Africa

Population data for short tandem repeat (STR) loci, today’s method of choice for human identification and paternity testing in forensic genetics, are available for numerous populations from the major ethnic groups. Nevertheless, the allele frequency data for Sub-Saharan Africans in particular are extremely generalized and little information is available for particular populations. In this study, we present the allele frequency and the forensic efficiency values for eight STR polymorphisms (i.e. TH01, vWA, ACTBP2, FGA, D21S11, D3S1358, D8S1179, D18S51 in addition to the Amelogenin locus for gender identification) in two small population samples from Southern Africa (42 unrelated Himbas from Northwest Namibia, and 72 unrelated black South Africans from the Cape Town area). The purpose of this work was to establish a database for forensic purposes including paternity testing and to increase our knowledge of STRs in African populations.