title: Simple and sensitive method for identification of human DNA by allele-specific polymerase chain reaction of FOXP2.
abstract: The forkhead box P2 (FOXP2) gene is specifically involved in speech and language development in humans. The sequence is well conserved among many vertebrate species but has accumulated amino acid changes in the human lineage. The aim of this study was to develop a simple method to discriminate between human and nonhuman vertebrate DNA in forensic specimens by amplification of a human-specific genomic region. In the present study, we designed an allele-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using primers to amplify smaller than 70-bp regions of FOXP2 to identify DNA as being of human or nonhuman, including ape, origin. PCR amplification was also successfully performed using fluorescence-labeled primers, and this method allows a single PCR reaction with a genomic DNA sample as small as 0.01 ng. This system also identified the presence of human DNA in two blood stains stored for 20 and 38 years. The results suggested the potential usefulness of FOXP2 as an identifier of human DNA in forensic samples.
authors.affiliation: Forensic Science Laboratory, Fukuoka Prefectural Police Headquarters, 7-7 Higashikoen, Hakata-ku, Fukuoka 812-8576, Japan.
authors.forename: Kenichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hiroshige
authors.forename: Mikiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Soejima
authors.forename: Tomoki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nishioka
authors.forename: Shigeo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kamimura
authors.forename: Yoshiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Koda
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D000818:Animals; D001801:Blood Stains; D004247:DNA / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016172:DNA Fingerprinting / Q000379:methods*; D017931:DNA Primers; D004586:Electrophoresis; D005091:Exons; D005453:Fluorescence; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics*; D005819:Genetic Markers; D006801:Humans; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; C465448:FOXP2 protein, human; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors; D005819:Genetic Markers; D004247:DNA