The distribution of the HLA-DQ alpha alleles and genotypes in the Turkish population as determined by the use of DNA amplification and allele-specific oligonucleotides.

Allele and genotype frequencies for the HLA-DQ alpha locus were determined for use in forensic analyses in Turkey. The polymerase chain reaction and the reverse dot blot format were employed to detect six different HLA DQ alpha alleles, which were detected among 150 unrelated individuals with allele frequencies ranging from 7% to 26.7%. The distribution of the observed genotypes was in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The discrimination power of this system in the Turkish population sample was 0.94, and the allelic diversity was 0.81. This study provides support for the validity of the HLA-DQ alpha procedure for typing forensic samples.