Abstract: Objective To investigate the genetic polymorphisms of 17 STR loci in Uygur population of Akesu in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Methods Blood samples from 10 094 unrelated individuals of Uygur population of Akesu in Xinjiang were amplified by using the 17+1 PCR amplification kit, and 17 STR loci typing were detected. Allele distribution and population genetic parameters of each locus were calculated, and compared with those of Chinese Han population, and Uygur population of Yili, Hotan and Turpan regions. Results In the 10 094 unrelated Uygur individuals, 252 alleles were detected. All loci meet the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium using a chi-square goodness-of-fit test expectation except vWA loci. Fourteen out of the 17 STR loci, including D13S317, showed high power of discrimination. A significant difference on the allele distribution of all the 17 STR loci was observed between Uygur population of Akesu and Chinese Han population, and the difference of some loci existed between Uygur population of Akesu and the other three Uygur populations. Conclusion The 17 STR loci are highly polymorphic genetic markers, and the polymorphic information could serve as reference data for forensic individual identification and paternity identification in Akesu.

Key words: forensic genetics, polymorphism, genetic, short tandem repeat, Uygur nationality, Xinjiang