Direct STR typing from human bones

Abstract

Identification by STR analysis of bones is time-consuming, mainly due to the lengthy decalcification required and complex DNA extraction process. To streamline this process, we developed a direct STR typing protocol from bone samples. We optimized bone sample amounts using femur and tibia and two commercial PCR kits (Identifiler™ Plus and IDplex Plus kits). Optimally, 100 mg of bone powder in 300 µL PBS buffer was heated at 98 °C for three minutes to produce a supernatant for DNA amplification. IDplex Plus performed better than Identifiler™ Plus in terms of allele recovery and peak height. Fifteen samples of each of seven bone elements (1st distal phalange of hand, capitate, femur, metacarpal 4, patella, talus, and tibia; N = 105) were then subjected to direct STR typing with the optimized protocol, and 94.3% were high partial to full profiles. The performance of the developed protocol was similar for all bone elements. Median peak heights were significantly better in profiles of cancellous bone than compact bone (p = 0.033) and significantly different across the bone elements (p < 0.001). Ten casework samples from various conditions and up to 7-year-PMI were subjected to both direct STR and conventional STR typing. No significant difference in the number of alleles was seen (95% HDI of −13.5 to 5.15). As well as being rapid, convenient, and safe, the protocol could help improve STR typing from bones.