Population genetics of STR loci in caucasians

Abstract

STR loci are becoming increasingly important in forensic casework. In order to be used fairly and efficiently, the population genetics of these loci must be investigated and the implications for forensic inference assessed. A key population genetics parameter is the 'coancestry coefficient', or F(ST), which is the correlation between two genes sampled from distinct individuals within a subpopulation. We present analyses of STR data, at geographic scales which range from national to regional, from the UK and other European sources. We implement a likelihood-based method of estimating F(ST), which has important advantages over alternative methods: it allows a range of plausible values to be as..