The indigenous peoples of Peru exhibit marked ancestral differentiation compared with mestizos, whose origin stems from genetic integration of multiple pre-Incan and Incan native communities and European admixture during and after Spanish colonization. The Chancas were a pre-Incan Andean group who resisted Inca rule and maintained their lineages in isolated areas. Recent genetic studies are reconstructing their population history from a biological perspective, complementing archaeological and historical accounts. Y-STRs from native populations in Peru have been studied; however, representative groups such as the Chancas have not yet been evaluated. The present study analyzed 27 Y-chromosome STRs to characterize the Chancas. DNA from 70 unrelated individuals was collected using Nucleic Cards (Copan). These individuals reside in the department of Apurímac, Peru. Two 3.0 mm punches were taken from each card, and genomic DNA was extracted using the Chelex (5% resin) method. DNA concentrations in each sample were determined using a Qubit fluorometer. One nanogram (1 ng) of DNA from each sample was amplified by direct PCR using the Yfiler™ Plus PCR Amplification Kit (Life Technologies), following the manufacturer’s instructions. Amplified products were detected using the Applied Biosystems™ 3500XL Genetic Analyzer (Life Technologies), according to the manufacturer’s recommended protocol. After capillary electrophoresis, the data were imported into GeneMapper® ID-X v1.5 software (Thermo Fisher Scientific, 2015) to generate genetic profiles, which were analyzed according to the manufacturer’s recommendations. Of the 70 samples, 67 distinct haplotypes were observed. The haplotype diversity for the total sample was 0.9934. The haplogroups identified were Q (54.29%), R (32.86%), and E (5,71%), T (4.21%), and J (2.86%).

Authors

• Sonia Guillen Ramirez (Laboratorio de Microbiología Molecular y Biotecnología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Peru)
• Edgardo Delgado Ramos (Posgrado, Universidad Privada Norbert Wiener, Peru)
• Bruce Budowle (Department of Forensic Medicine, University of Helsinki, Finland)
• Carlos Neyra-Rivera (Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Tecnológica del Perú, Peru)