Abstract
BackgroundA great challenge arises when sex determination of human remains is needed, especially when only, bone fragments or isolated teeth are available; such as in mass disasters. Thus, the aim of the present work is to extract and analyze the DNA from dental pulp for sex determination of a sample of Egyptian population using the polymerase chain reaction amplification of DYS14 and SRY genes.Materials and methodsDNA was extracted from the dental pulp of forty freshly extracted teeth (sound and carious) collected from adult Egyptians of both sexes using QIAamp® DNA Investigator Kit. Androgen Receptor gene was PCR amplified as an internal positive control. DYS14 and SRY genes were PCR amplified for sex determination.ResultsDNA extraction was confirmed by detection of the amplified AR gene band (292 bp) in all samples. Sex was successfully determined for all the studied teeth as revealed by amplification of 158 bp band, 778 bp band of the DYS14 and SRY genes respectively.ConclusionDYS14 and SRY genes were found to be reliable for dental sex determination regardless of the condition of teeth, whether sound or carious.
Highlights
A great challenge arises when sex determination of human remains is needed, especially when only, bone fragments or isolated teeth are available; such as in mass disasters
DYS14 and SRY genes were found to be reliable for dental sex determination regardless of the condition of teeth, whether sound or carious
The rest of the samples (16 teeth) showed no bands of either DYS14 or SRY gene in spite of displaying the amplified bands of the positive control Androgen Receptor (AR) gene (292 bp) that leads to identification of the female sex (Figs. 3, 4, and 5)
Summary
A great challenge arises when sex determination of human remains is needed, especially when only, bone fragments or isolated teeth are available; such as in mass disasters. Forensic odontology is a critical subspecialty of forensic medicine as it contributes to proper and accurate identification of individuals in mass disasters and crime scene investigations. It is considered as indispensable science for achieving justice (Nuzzolese & Di Vella, 2007; Saxena et al, 2010). Teeth are considered to be the ideal organ to estimate sex from fragmented, decomposed or burnt bodies as they are highly mineralized and most resistant to heat and decomposition.
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