Y chromosome SNP haplogroups in Danes, Greenlanders and Somalis J.J. Sanchez a, * , C. Børsting a , A. Hernandez b , J. Mengel-Jørgensen a , N. Morling a a Department of Forensic Genetics, Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Copenhagen, 11 Frederik V’s Vej 11, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark b Instituto Nacional de Toxicologı ´a, Departamento de Canarias, La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain Abstract. We have developed a PCR-based assay with co-amplification of 25 DNA fragments and detection of 35 Y chromosome SNPs with the SNaPshot technique. The Y SNP package can define 34 Y chromosome haplogroups and it can identify the majority of the Y chromosome haplogroups of interest in the populations relevant to forensic genetics in Denmark. We typed 194 Danes, 215 Greenlanders, and 201 Somalis, all males. A total of 21 different haplogroups were identified. In Danes, 11 haplogroups with frequencies from 0.5% to 38% were identified and three of the haplogroups, I, R1b*(xR1b1, R1b6, R1b8) and R1a1*(xR1a1b), were found in f 91% of the population. In Greenlanders, 10 haplogroups with frequencies from 0.5% to 50% were identified and the haplogroups P*(xQ3a, R1), R1b*(xR1b1, R1b6, R1b8) and I, were found in f 86% of the population. In Somalis, 14 haplogroups with frequencies from 0.5% to 79% were identified and the haplogroups E3b1*(xE3b1b) and K*(xN3, O, P) were found in f 88% of the population. The distribution of haplogroups was compared to the distribution found in 65 males from West Africa. D 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Y chromosome; Single nucleotide polymorphism; Multiplex PCR; Minisequencing 1. Introduction We have developed a multiplex PCR with 25 amplicons containing 35 known Y chromosome SNPs, and we have used the SNaPshot assay to detect all 35 SNPs in a single experiment [1]. We selected Y chromosome SNPs that were reported to be polymorphic in European and other populations relevant to forensic genetics in Denmark [2]. Here, we compare the haplogroup diversity in Somali, Danish and Greenlandic males using the 35 SNP package. These populations include Y haplogroups typically found in African and Eurasian populations. 0531-5131/ D 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/S0531-5131(03)01635-2 * Corresponding author. Tel.: +45-35-32-6225; fax: +45-35-32-6120. E-mail address: juan.sanchez@forensic.ku.dk (J.J. Sanchez). www.ics-elsevier.com International Congress Series 1261 (2004) 347 – 349