Abstract: Objective To analyze the genetic phenotypes of Nantong Han population and evaluate the application value of 17 Y-STR loci in Nantong population. Methods The peripheral blood samples were collected from 343 unrelated Nantong Han males and the genomic DNA were extracted by Chelex-100 method. Genotyping was performed using the AmpF?詛STR YfilerTM Kit. The results were compared with other 12 Han populations, including Anhui, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Shandong, Shanghai, Zhejiang （1）, Lanzhou, Nanyang, Luzhou, Mudanjiang, Shanxi and Zhejiang （2）, and 9 minority populations （Mongol, Xibe, Tibetan in Lhasa, Tibetan in Qinghai, Kazak, Uighur, Manchu, Paiwan in Taiwan and Tujia）. Results A total of 327 different haplotypes were found in 17 Y-STR loci in Nantong Han population. The haplotype diversity （HD） was 0.999 7. The Rst value between Nantong Han and other Chinese populations ranged from -0.000 6 to 0.263 5. The multidimensional scaling results showed that Nantong Han population had no significant differences between most of the Han populations, but had significant differences between most of Chinese minority populations. Conclusion Seventeen Y-STR loci can be a powerful tool for forensic application because of its high polymorphism in Nantong Han population.

Key words: forensic genetics, polymorphism, genetic, Y chromosome, short tandem repeat, Han population, Nantong