Profiling 627 mitochondrial nucleotides via the analysis of a 23-plex polymerase chain reaction by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry.
We present a rapid and informative mitochondrial DNA profiling system, which has high forensic impact. The assay is based on the analysis of a 23-plex PCR by ion-pair reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography online hyphenated to electrospray ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (ICEMS). In a single 25-min run, an overall number of 627 nucleotide positions were screened. The vast majority of observed sequence variations were explainable by alterations of the allelic states of the 23 target SNPs, which were selected on their ability to increase forensic discrimination within West Eurasian populations. Within an Austrian population sample comprising 90 unrelated men, 14 different, nontarget SNP-related sequence variations--13 base substitutions and 1 deletion--were detected by ICEMS and confirmed by sequencing. All amplified sequences were located outside of the routinely sequenced hypervariable segments (HVS-I and HVS-II) of the noncoding control region. Accordingly, the genetic information obtained by the 23-plex PCR-ICEMS assay could be combined with HVS-I/HVS-II sequencing results to one highly discriminating mtDNA profile, which covered approximately 7.5% of the total mtDNA genome. With the 23-plex PCR-ICEMS assay, DNA mixtures were detected and the allelic ratios were accurately quantified. The observed robustness and sensitivity underlined the practical applicability of the assay in forensic science, which was proven by typing eight representative casework samples.
Oberacher
Herbert
H
Institute of Legal Medicine, Innsbruck Medical University, Muellerstrasse 44, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria.
Niederstätter
Harald
H
Pitterl
Florian
F
Parson
Walther
W
D000483:Alleles; D001483:Base Sequence; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid / Q000379:methods; D022801:Complementarity Determining Regions / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D044707:Forensic Sciences / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009711:Nucleotides / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D021241:Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization / Q000379:methods
D022801:Complementarity Determining Regions; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial; D009711:Nucleotides