Abstract: Objective To analyze mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) polymorphisms in coding area and provide a theoretical basis for applying in forensic science. Methods The primers of 8162F/8483R and 13070F/13299R were designed according to the Anderson′s sequence. Using PCR-sequencing method to detect polymorphisms of mtDNA nt8162-8483 and nt13070-13299. Results The lengths of the amplicons were 322 bp and 230 bp respectively. There were 24 mitochondrial haplotypes defined by 21 variable positions in both regions. The gene diversity was estimated at 0.751 1, and the probability of two randomly selected individuals having identical mtDNA types was 0.256 4. Conclusion The polymorphic sites within mtDNA coding area can be useful in combination with mtDNA control region in order to increase the discrimination power.

Key words: mitochondrial DNA, coding area, single nucleotide polymorphisms, sequencing