ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the alleles and genotypes frequency of 9 short tandem repeat (STR) loci on the X chromosome (DXS6789, DXS101, DXS8378, DXS7132, DXS7133, DXS7423, DXS6804, DXS6799, HPRTB) of Ewenki individuals living in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The 9 X-chromosomal STR loci were analyzed with polymerase chain reation (PCR), followed by polyacylamide gel electrophoresis and silver staining. Software SPSS13.0, Genepop, Fstat and Powerstats were used to evaluate their polymorphism diversity and potential forensic application.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Allele frequencies and genotype frequencies of 99 unrelated Ewenki individuals were obtained. Among the 9 loci, DXS6789, HPRTB showed less polymorphism and diversity in the population. The diversity of DXS7132 has no statistical difference between Ewenki population and other 4 Asian populations.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Except DXS6789, HPRTB, the other 7 X-chromosomal STR loci are appropriate for individual identification, paternity test involving a female child, and studies on related disease. DXS7132 should be excluded when being used to distinguish diversity difference among populations.</p>