Analysis of the genetic structure of Santa Cruz province and it comparison with the other Southern Patagonian provinces of Argentina

Abstract

Santa Cruz is the southernmost Patagonian province of Argentina. Its demographic history is complex and changing over time. Aiming to investigate the overall genetic features of this province a set of markers routinely used in forensic casework were analyzed. The study involved 645 from Santa Cruz (N = 145), Chubut (N = 102), Rio Negro (N = 99), Buenos Aires (N = 93) and potentially parental population samples from CEPH panel (N = 206). We analyzed 15 autosomal STRs, 23 Y-STRs and 6 Y-SNPs. Autosomal STRs displayed statistically significant genetic distances between Santa Cruz and Chubut, Rio Negro and Buenos Aires populations. Native American Y-specific haplogroup Q1a3a was present in around 15% of the Santa Cruz males and the haplogroup R1b was the most frequent European hg (45%). Structure analysis demonstrated that three ancestral contributors that build to Santa Cruz gene pool were European (50%), Native American (36%) and African (13%). Genetic characterization of this population allowed to further increase genetic knowledge of the country, where previous studies have identified regional differences associated with the complex demographic process that took place in South America.