Deciphering male lineages: a comprehensive analysis of Y chromosome markers in the Panjin Han population

Background Y-chromosome short tandem repeat (Y-STR) kits have become essential tools in forensic casework involving male biological material. With advances in genotyping, there is an increasing need for expanded Y-chromosomal marker sets to improve resolution in male identification and paternal lineage tracing.Aim This study aimed to assess the forensic efficiency and population genetic characteristics of the Yfiler™ Platinum PCR Amplification Kit within the Han population of Panjin, Liaoning Province, China.Subjects & method A total of 1,295 unrelated Han males from Panjin were analysed using the kit, which includes 38 Y-STRs and 3 Y-indels. Statistical parameters, including haplotype diversity (HD), gene diversity (GD), discrimination capacity (DC), and random matching probability (RMP) were calculated. Population structure was explored through Rst pairwise analyses, multidimensional scaling (MDS), principal component analysis (PCA), heatmap clustering, and Neighbor-joining (NJ) phylogenetic trees.Results The study revealed 1,225 distinct haplotypes (1,166 unique), yielding a DC of 0.9459 and HD of 0.9999. GD values ranged from 0.1014 (DYS645) to 0.9675 (DYS385). Haplogroup O predominated (70%), especially subclade O2a2 (F525).Conclusion The Yfiler™ Platinum kit demonstrates high discriminatory power in the Panjin Han population, establishing a valuable regional forensic reference database for Northeast China. While consistent with broader East Asian Y-chromosome patterns, this dataset provides population-specific parameters essential for accurate forensic interpretation in this geographic region.