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Mitochondrial DNA control region variation in an Iraqi population sample

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Abstract

Background

Although Iraq has one of the world’s oldest cultural histories and an important geographic location, forensic reference data on mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region in Iraqi populations are scarce, particularly for populations residing in the southern part of Iraq. Mitochondrial DNA typing is an excellent tool for forensic investigations and in missing-person cases because of its unique qualities, such as mtDNA non-coding control region with specific genetic markers, high copy numbers in cells, maternal inheritance, and lack of recombination.

Methods

Forensic analysis was performed on the entire mtDNA control region in 203 unrelated Iraqi individuals residing in Samawah City of Iraq. Polymorphisms in the mtDNA were detected using polymerase chain reaction and Sanger-type sequencing, and the sequences were aligned to compare with revised Cambridge Reference Sequence (rCRS).

Results

The sequencing results revealed 111 haplotypes characterized by 143 polymorphic positions. Of these haplotypes, 63 were unique and 48 were shared by more than one person. The haplotype data generated in this study will be available on EMPOP via accession number EMP00814.

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Fig. 1

Data availability

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article and its supplementary information files.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank all volunteers for providing blood samples for this study. We would like to thank Dr. Nadia Al-Zahery (Department of Biology and Biotechnology, University of Pavia, Italy) for her assistance and advice in accomplishing this work.

Funding

This project was personally funded by the authors.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, College of Science, Al Muthanna University, Samawah, Iraq

    Suhair M. Jabbar & Nihad A. M. Al-Rashedi

Authors
  1. Suhair M. Jabbar
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  2. Nihad A. M. Al-Rashedi
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Contributions

Conceptualization, Nihad A. M. Al-Rashedi; data curation, Nihad A. M. Al-Rashedi and Suhair M. Jabbar; formal analysis, Nihad A. M. Al-Rashedi and Suhair M. Jabbar; investigation, Suhair M. Jabbar; methodology, Nihad A. M. Al-Rashedi; project administration, Nihad A. M. Al-Rashedi; resources, Suhair M. Jabbar; supervision, Nihad A. M. Al-Rashedi; visualization, Suhair M. Jabbar; manuscript writing, Nihad A. M. Al-Rashedi and Suhair M. Jabbar.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nihad A. M. Al-Rashedi.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethics approval

This research was approved by the Research Ethics Committee at the University of Al-Muthanna (5030sci on December 5, 2018).

Consent to participate

All participants provided signed informed consent.

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Given by all the authors.

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Not applicable.

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Jabbar, S.M., Al-Rashedi, N.A.M. Mitochondrial DNA control region variation in an Iraqi population sample. Int J Legal Med 135, 421–425 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-020-02452-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-020-02452-4

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