We developed a panel of 40 multiplexed short insertion-deletion (indel) polymorphic loci with widespread chromosomal locations and allele frequencies close to 0.50 in the European population. We genotyped these markers in 360 unrelated self-classified White Brazilians and 50 mother-child-probable father trios with proven paternity. The average heterozygosity (gene diversity) per locus was 0.48,...

AIM To conduct developmental validation studies on a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based short tandem repeat (STR) multiplex typing system, developed for the purpose of genetic individualization and parentage testing in domestic cat samples. METHODS To evaluate reproducibility of the typing system, the multiplex was amplified using DNA extracted from hair, blood, and buccal samples obtained...

There are several indigenous ethnic populations along the silk road in the Northwest of China that display clear differences in culture and social customs, perhaps as a result of geographic isolation and different linguistic traditions. However, extensive trade and other interactions probably facilitated the admixture of different gene pools between these populations over the last two millennia...

New multiplex PCR sets of commonly used short tandem repeat (STR) markers have been developed to produce PCR products that are reduced in size when compared to standard commercial STR kits. The reduction in size of these amplicons can facilitate the examination and analysis of degraded DNA evidence by improving amplification efficiency. This "miniSTR" approach will permit current forensic pract...

We have devised and implemented a DNA fingerprinting module for an upper division undergraduate laboratory based on the amplification and analysis of three of the 13 short tandem repeat loci that are required by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Combined DNA Index System (FBI CODIS) data base. Students first collect human epithelial (cheek) cells using sterile buccal swabs and then utilize co...

AIM To determine the forensic utility for pairwise DNA comparisons and DNA mixture resolution with denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC) of human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). METHODS MtDNA hypervariable regions (HV) 1 and 2 from the mtDNA D-loop were amplified by the polymerase chain reaction and mixed between known and unknown sample sources. The DNA mixtures were denatured...

The allelic frequencies of 12 short tandem repeat loci were obtained from a sample of 307 unrelated individuals living in Macapá, a city in the northern Amazon region, Brazil. These loci are the most commonly used in forensics and paternity testing. Based on the allele frequency obtained for the population of Macapá, we estimated an interethnic admixture for the three parental groups (European,...

This paper outlines the substantial privacy risks posed by the human genome, and explains how sensitive information is omitted from FBI DNA profiles. It then details the quiet expansion of law enforcement DNA databases, including the controversial technique of “familial DNA search,” and argues for a population-wide, universal DNA database. Genomes, Profiles and Privacy Risks The human genome is...