BAND SHIFT ANALYSIS OF 3 BASE-PAIR REPEAT ALLELES IN THE SHORT TANDEMREPEAT LOCUS D12S391

Two hundred and sixty UK Caucasian individuals have been typed for the STR locus D12S391. Measurements of absolute band shift, relative to a n allelic ladder, allowed fragments differing by one base pair to be c onsistently distinguished. The intermediate alleles typed from such fr agments comprised approximately 5% of the total alleles observed in th is study. The existence of intermediate alleles in the D12S391 locus, not included in the allelic ladder, allowed us to assess the efficacy of band shift analysis in detecting intermediate alleles on two differ ent automated fluorescent detection platforms. The results of sequenci ng a sample of intermediate alleles are also presented. (C) 1998 Elsev ier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.