Analysis of the HVI and HVII regions of mitochondrial DNA in 100 individuals from North of Portugal

The analysis of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region is of great importance in forensic casework and evolution studies. The aim of this study was to create a population database for the HVI and HVII regions of mtDNA in the population of North of Portugal. The HVI and HVII segments were studied in 100 unrelated and healthy individuals by direct sequencing. Nucleotide substitutions were found using Anderson's reference sequence. Length and position heteroplasmy were observed. The genetic structure of the population was analysed. The match probability and discrimination power values were calculated. The phylogenetic analysis for HVI segment was made following classification into haplogroups and genetic distances were calculated. These analyses place the North of Portugal population among the European Caucasoid populations. (C) 2003 Published by Elsevier B.V.