DNA recovery and analysis from skeletal material in modern forensic contexts
The generation of a DNA profile from skeletal remains is an important part of the identification process in both mass disaster and unidentified person cases. Since bones and teeth are often the only biological materials remaining after exposure to environmental conditions, intense heat, certain trau...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Oxford University Press
2019-01-01
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| Series: | Forensic Sciences Research |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/20961790.2018.1515594 |
| _version_ | 1797714374416138240 |
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| author | Krista E. Latham Jessica J. Miller |
| author_facet | Krista E. Latham Jessica J. Miller |
| author_sort | Krista E. Latham |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The generation of a DNA profile from skeletal remains is an important part of the identification process in both mass disaster and unidentified person cases. Since bones and teeth are often the only biological materials remaining after exposure to environmental conditions, intense heat, certain traumatic events and in cases where a significant amount of time has passed since the death of the individual, the ability to purify large quantities of informative DNA from these hard tissues would be beneficial. Since sampling the hard tissues for genetic analysis is a destructive process, it is important to understand those environmental and intrinsic factors that contribute to DNA preservation. This will serve as a brief introduction to these topics, since skeletal sampling strategies and molecular taphonomy have been discussed in depth elsewhere. Additionally advances in skeletal DNA extraction and analysis will be discussed. Currently there is great variation in the DNA isolation methods used by laboratories to purify DNA from the hard tissues; however, a standardized set of short tandem repeat (STR) loci is analyzed by many US laboratories to allow for comparisons across samples and jurisdictions. Recent advances have allowed for the generation of DNA profiles from smaller quantities of template DNA and have expanded the number of loci analyzed for greater discriminatory power and predictions regarding the geographic ancestry and phenotype of the individual. Finally, utilizing databases and expanding the number of comparison samples will be discussed in light of their role in the identification process. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T07:51:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-951f33d441d94968b0b761951f5ad851 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2096-1790 2471-1411 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T07:51:58Z |
| publishDate | 2019-01-01 |
| publisher | Oxford University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Forensic Sciences Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-951f33d441d94968b0b761951f5ad8512023-09-02T20:34:42ZengOxford University PressForensic Sciences Research2096-17902471-14112019-01-0141515910.1080/20961790.2018.15155941515594DNA recovery and analysis from skeletal material in modern forensic contextsKrista E. Latham0Jessica J. Miller1Human Identification Center, University of IndianapolisHuman Identification Center, University of IndianapolisThe generation of a DNA profile from skeletal remains is an important part of the identification process in both mass disaster and unidentified person cases. Since bones and teeth are often the only biological materials remaining after exposure to environmental conditions, intense heat, certain traumatic events and in cases where a significant amount of time has passed since the death of the individual, the ability to purify large quantities of informative DNA from these hard tissues would be beneficial. Since sampling the hard tissues for genetic analysis is a destructive process, it is important to understand those environmental and intrinsic factors that contribute to DNA preservation. This will serve as a brief introduction to these topics, since skeletal sampling strategies and molecular taphonomy have been discussed in depth elsewhere. Additionally advances in skeletal DNA extraction and analysis will be discussed. Currently there is great variation in the DNA isolation methods used by laboratories to purify DNA from the hard tissues; however, a standardized set of short tandem repeat (STR) loci is analyzed by many US laboratories to allow for comparisons across samples and jurisdictions. Recent advances have allowed for the generation of DNA profiles from smaller quantities of template DNA and have expanded the number of loci analyzed for greater discriminatory power and predictions regarding the geographic ancestry and phenotype of the individual. Finally, utilizing databases and expanding the number of comparison samples will be discussed in light of their role in the identification process.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/20961790.2018.1515594Forensic sciencesforensic anthropologyforensic geneticsindividual identificationmolecular taphonomyskeletal DNA ExtractionDNA profilesDNA databases |
| spellingShingle | Krista E. Latham Jessica J. Miller DNA recovery and analysis from skeletal material in modern forensic contexts Forensic Sciences Research Forensic sciences forensic anthropology forensic genetics individual identification molecular taphonomy skeletal DNA Extraction DNA profiles DNA databases |
| title | DNA recovery and analysis from skeletal material in modern forensic contexts |
| title_full | DNA recovery and analysis from skeletal material in modern forensic contexts |
| title_fullStr | DNA recovery and analysis from skeletal material in modern forensic contexts |
| title_full_unstemmed | DNA recovery and analysis from skeletal material in modern forensic contexts |
| title_short | DNA recovery and analysis from skeletal material in modern forensic contexts |
| title_sort | dna recovery and analysis from skeletal material in modern forensic contexts |
| topic | Forensic sciences forensic anthropology forensic genetics individual identification molecular taphonomy skeletal DNA Extraction DNA profiles DNA databases |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/20961790.2018.1515594 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT kristaelatham dnarecoveryandanalysisfromskeletalmaterialinmodernforensiccontexts AT jessicajmiller dnarecoveryandanalysisfromskeletalmaterialinmodernforensiccontexts |