A population study on two short tandem repeat loci, HUMTH01 and HUMVWA, and two variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) loci, D1S80 and APOB, was performed on 128 unrelated individuals from Serbia. All analyzed loci were amplified by the polymerase chain reaction. Separation and detection of the amplified VNTR and STR fragments were carried out by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and silver staining. Observed allele frequencies and genotype distributions for all four loci are very similar to those in other European populations, and are consistent with those expected under Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The combined average power of exclusion, based on expected genotype frequencies of analyzed loci, was 98.8% for paternity cases, and 99.9% for stain cases. Therefore, these loci can be used for forensic and paternity testing in the Serbian population.

Key words: APOB, D1S80, HUMTH01, HUMVWA, population study.