THE DRPLA CAG REPEATS IN AN ITALIAN POPULATION-SAMPLE - EVALUATION OFTHE POLYMORPHISM FOR FORENSIC APPLICATIONS

The DRPLA CAG repeats polymorphism has been studied in an Italian popu lation sample. PCR amplification, manual PAGE and silver staining were employed. A total of 16 different alleles, spanning the range from 5 to 21 CAG triplettes, was observed. The heterozygosity was 0.81 and no significant deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium was found. 81 m eioses from parentage testing were also analyzed and a Mendelian patte rn of inheritance was observed in all cases. In addition, we could suc cessfully type DRPLA locus in some forensic specimens, 1 ng of DNA all owing clear definition of alleles. The authors conclude that the DRPLA CAG repeats analysis may be useful for forensic applications.