Mitochondrial DNA data of Cabo Verde Immigrant Population Living in Lisboa

Abstract

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis found an important role in forensic genetics, especially when nuclear DNA analysis does not give a conclusive response. It is a powerful tool to exclude samples as originating from the same matriline. Features that increase the vested interest of mtDNA are the high copy number per cell, maternal inheritance, absence of recombination, and high mutation rate. Due to the higher overall mutation rate, the control region is comparatively enriched in sequence variation and therefore its analysis is important to establish haplotypes and haplogroups. Haplogroup assignment became noteworthy to clarify the history and demographic past of a population. As well as occurring all over Europe, in Portugal, and particularly in Lisboa, immigrant populations are increasing. The Instituto Nacional de Medicina Legal e Ciências Forenses is carrying out a comprehensive genetic study with the aim of portraying the genetic diversity of the immigrants who live in Lisboa. Within that objective, the present study intends to: obtain the mtDNA variability of Cabo Verde Immigrant Population Living in Lisboa and classify haplotypes into haplogroups. The studied population shows great interpopulation genetic variability due to the high frequency of unique haplotypes. Cabo Verde immigrants living in Lisboa exhibit haplotypes that belong to haplogroups observed in native Africans and in West Eurasian. MtDNA control region typing is extremely useful as a technique to differentiate among degraded samples frequently found in forensic genetics and to establish its global frequency when having knowledge of the genetic structure of populations.