Forensic Evaluation and Population data of 11 Y-STRs in Moroccan immigrants in Belgium

Aim: To establish a database of Y chromosomal haplotypes of the Moroccan immigrant population of Belgium. Methods: A sample of 109 random Moroccan male immigrants bearing different surnames and living in Belgium were typed for the 11 Y chromosome short tandem repeats DYS19, DYS385a-b, DYS389I, DYS389II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, DYS393, DYS438, DYS439 and DYS437. Results: A total of 58 different haplotypes were observed. Among these, 44 were unique, 11 occurred twice, 2 were counted 4 times and 1 was observed in - surprisingly - 35 males. The resulting haplotype diversity was 0.8942 and the discrimination capacity was 0.5321. Conclusion: The most frequent haplotype is common in North Africa and the even higher frequency in this sample is suggestive of a founder effect of this migrant population, combined with endogamy and inbreeding.