Abstract
Genetic analyses such as STR-typing are routinely used for identification purposes in forensic casework. Although genotyping techniques only require a minimum amount of DNA to provide a genetic profile, DNA quality differs not only between but also within tissues during ongoing decomposition. Initiated by a recent case where, due to the constitution of the body, preferred tissue was not available or only resulted in a partial and not usable DNA profile, the analysis of intervertebral discs as a source of DNA was considered. As the analysis of this tissue resulted in a high quality DNA profile a further study was performed in which thirty intervertebral discs dissected from bodies in different stages of decay were analyzed. All samples yielded good quality DNA in quantities suitable for STR-based amplification with no or only low degradation indices, resulting in complete genetic profiles. These results demonstrate the robustness of human intervertebral disc tissue as a source of DNA for molecular identification purposes.
Highlights
STR-based DNA profiling has become the gold standard for identification purposes, especially for highly decomposed bodies or body fragments [1–3]
Because a standardized removal of intervertebral discs (IVDs) turned out to be challenging due to degenerative changes and/or the positioning of the spine, the appearance of the dissected IVDs differed
The inverse relationship between the degree of decomposition and quantity of extracted DNA may be explained by an increasing DNA degradation in terms of fragmentation with increasing degree of putrefaction [24–26]
Summary
STR-based DNA profiling has become the gold standard for identification purposes, especially for highly decomposed bodies or body fragments [1–3]. High quality DNA is typically restricted to fresh tissue samples. Decomposition processes and/or environmental factors reduce the stability and integrity of DNA within and between tissues [10–12]. For bodies in advanced stages of putrefaction, when suitable samples of organs and muscles may no be longer available, solid material such as teeth or bones have to be used for analysis [13, 14]. Processing may be timeconsuming and/or technically difficult and may depend on experience [15, 16]. Cartilages and ligaments, like the Achilles tendon, are quite resistant to autolysis and putrefaction and well suited for molecular identification even in heavily decomposed bodies [17–21]. When preferred tissue is not available or is too degraded to generate complete
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