title: The validation of a 7-locus multiplex STR test for use in forensic casework. (I). Mixtures, ageing, degradation and species studies.
abstract: We have evaluated a multiplex STR system for routine forensic use, which co-amplifies six short tandem repeat (STR) loci; HUMTH01, D21S11, D18S51, D8S1179, HUMVWF31/A and HUMFIBRA (FGA), in conjunction with the X-Y homologous gene Amelogenin. Analysis of PCR products employs denaturing polyacrylamide gels coupled with fluorescent labelled primers and detection is undertaken on ABD 373A automated sequencers. The technique was shown to be robust and reproducible when samples were analysed under conditions consistent with those encountered in a forensic environment. The system was demonstrated to be human specific and is suitable for use with both aged and degraded material. Somatic stability was proven with a wide range of tissue types and we were able to detect mixtures at ratios between 1:10 and 10:1. During this study no incidence of sample mis-typing due to allelic or locus drop-out was observed. Furthermore, although additional artefact bands were occasionally encountered these did not interfere with the interpretation of results. The performance of the system with poor quality samples demonstrated its suitability as a powerful tool in forensic investigation.
authors.affiliation: Forensic Science Service, Birmingham, UK.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sparkes
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kimpton
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Watson
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Oldroyd
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Clayton
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Barnett
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Arnold
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hale
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chapman
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Urquhart
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gill
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000483:Alleles; D001801:Blood Stains; D002648:Child; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D005554:Forensic Medicine; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012091:Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid / Q000235:genetics*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012463:Saliva / Q000378:metabolism; D012661:Semen / Q000378:metabolism; D013045:Species Specificity; D013048:Specimen Handling
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004247:DNA