Allele frequencies for 15 autosomal STR loci and admixture estimates in Puerto Rican Americans

Allelic frequencies of 15 short tandem repeats (STR) markers (CSF1PO, FGA, THO1, TPOX, VWA, D3S11358, D5S818, D7S820, D8S1179, D13S317, D16S539, D18S51, D21S11, D19S433 and D2S1338) were determined using the AmpFℓ STR® Identifiler™ PCR Amplification Kit in Puerto Rican American individuals (N = 205) from Massachusetts. The FGA, D18S51 and D2S1338 loci had a high power of discrimination (PD) with values of 0.967, 0.965 and 0.961, respectively. Significant deviations from the Hardy–Weinberg (HW) equilibrium were not detected. An important genetic contribution of Caucasian European (76.4%) was detected in Puerto Rican Americans. However, comparative analysis between Puerto Rican American and other neighboring populations from United States mainly with African and Caucasian Americans, revealed significant differences in the distribution of STR markers.Our results are important for future comparative genetic studies of different American ethnic groups, in particular a cultural group called Hispanic-Americans and should be helpful for forensic and paternity testing.