Genetic characterisation of autosomal str loci in the population of Southeastern Anatolia Region

Southeastern Anatolia is the smallest, yet the most densely populated region among the seven geographic constituents of Turkey. Situated in the Upper Mesopotamia, Southeastern Anatolia Region is the northernmost extension of the Fertile Crescent, which is often considered as the earliest cradle of civilisation. In this study, it was aimed to investigate the autosomal STR polymorphisms in a truly representative population sample from the Southeastern Anatolia. Samples from a total of 257 volunteers were analysed by 19-loci autosomal STRs using the commercially available COrDIS Plus Kit. Allele frequencies, statistical parameters of forensic interest and genetic distances with respect to selected populations were calculated, besides performing exact tests of population differentiation with the same populations. As a result, combined matching probability of 1.49978x10-23 and a combined power of exclusion of 0,999999961 for the studied STR loci were obtained in Southeastern Anatolian population. In addition to genetic closeness of the Southeastern Anatolia population to the other regional populations from Turkey, an apparent genetic continuum extending from the Near East to Southeastern Europe was striking.