DNA identification of skeletal remains from the World War II mass graves uncovered in Slovenia.
OBJECTIVE
To present the joint effort of three institutions in the identification of human remains from the World War II found in two mass graves in the area of Skofja Loka, Slovenia.


METHODS
The remains of 27 individuals were found in two small and closely located mass graves. The DNA was isolated from bone and teeth samples using either standard phenol/chloroform alcohol extraction or optimized Qiagen DNA extraction procedure. Some recovered samples required the employment of additional DNA purification methods, such as N-buthanol treatment. Quantifiler Human DNA Quantification Kit was used for DNA quantification. PowerPlex 16 kit was used to simultaneously amplify 15 short tandem repeat (STR) loci. Matching probabilities were estimated using the DNA View program.


RESULTS
Out of all processed samples, 15 remains were fully profiled at all 15 STR loci. The other 12 profiles were partial. The least successful profile included 13 loci. Also, 69 referent samples (buccal swabs) from potential living relatives were collected and profiled. Comparison of victims' profile against referent samples database resulted in 4 strong matches. In addition, 5 other profiles were matched to certain referent samples with lower probability.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results show that more than 6 decades after the end of the World War II, DNA analysis may significantly contribute to the identification of the remains from that period. Additional analysis of Y-STRs and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) markers will be performed in the second phase of the identification project.
Marjanović
Damir
D
Institute for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. marjanovd@hotmail.com
Durmić-Pasić
Adaleta
A
Bakal
Narcisa
N
Haverić
Sanin
S
Kalamujić
Belma
B
Kovacević
Lejla
L
Ramić
Jasmin
J
Pojskić
Naris
N
Skaro
Vedrana
V
Projić
Petar
P
Bajrović
Kasim
K
Hadziselimović
Rifat
R
Drobnic
Katja
K
Huffine
Edwin
E
Davoren
Jon
J
Primorac
Dragan
D
D016172:DNA Fingerprinting; D018732:Forensic Anthropology; D006801:Humans; D017524:Slovenia; D047789:World War II
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