Genetic characterisation of 19 autosomal STR loci in a population sample from the Southeastern Anatolia Region of Turkey.

Background: Southeastern Anatolia is the smallest, yet the most densely populated region among the seven major geographic constituents of Turkey. Situated in the Upper Mesopotamia, Southeastern Anatolia was also the northernmost extension of the Fertile Crescent, which is often considered as the earliest cradle of civilisation. Aim: To investigate the autosomal STR polymorphisms associated with a truly representative population sample pool from Southeastern Anatolia. Subjects and methods: 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 Nei's D-A distances with respect to the nearby and distant populations were calculated, besides performing exact tests of population differentiation with the same populations. Results: A combined matching probability of 1.49978 x 10(-23) and a combined power of exclusion of 0.999999961 were obtained for the novel Southeastern Anatolian autosomal STR dataset. Furthermore, the Southeastern Anatolia population was found to have close genetic affinities with the other regional populations from Turkey, along with those from an apparent genetic continuum extending from the Near East to Southeastern Europe. Conclusions: The novel Southeastern Anatolian dataset is expected to be useful in regional forensic genetics investigations and molecular anthropology applications.