HLA-DQ-ALPHA GENOTYPE AND ALLELE FREQUENCIES IN AN AUSTRIAN POPULATION

The HLA-DQ alpha system is used to an increasing degree in forensic se rology, for stain investigations, and paternity cases. Therefore sampl es which were taken from 85 unrelated persons living in Austria were e xamined. DNA was analyzed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplifica tion followed by hybridization to allele-specific oligonucleotide prob es in a reversed dot-blot technique after extraction with phenol/chlor oform. HLA-DQ alpha allele frequencies of German, Finnish, Dutch, Brit ish, Italian, Caucasian/USA and of Austrian populations were compared. Six common HLA-DQ alpha alleles are detectable. These alleles determi ne 21 possible genotypes. In our study 20 genotypes were obtained; the genotype 3/3 was not observed. The HLA-DQ alpha typing system using P CR-amplifled DNA is a simple and rapid method for typing very small am ounts of DNA and very old and/or degraded DNA. Therefore it is a helpf ul method in forensic casework.