title: Comparison of extractable DNA from bone following six-month exposure to outdoor conditions, garden loam, mold contamination or room storage.
abstract: Femur bone sections from a single donor were exposed for six months to (i) outdoor conditions (exposure to sun, rain, etc.); (ii) water-vapour saturated environment favourable to mould proliferation and (iii) humic-garden soil. Following these treatments, DNA was extracted and yields were compared with that of a control bone fragment kept under optimal laboratory storage conditions. Our results demonstrate that both mould and soil are very detrimental to bone DNA conservation since more than 97% of the bone DNA was lost in these samples as compared with the control condition. Outdoor exposure gives an intermediate result with 30% of the DNA still present in the bone. Thus, environments favourable to microorganisms proliferation appear detrimental to bone DNA conservation and are a bad prognostic should bone remains be used for genetic identification purpose. Comparatively, open-air exposure is much more favourable to bone DNA analysis.
authors.affiliation: Université de Nice, Laboratoire de Médecine Légale et d'Anthropologie médico-légale, France.
authors.forename: Loïc
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Startari
authors.forename: Jean-Noël
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Benoit
authors.forename: Gérald
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Quatrehomme
authors.forename: Georges
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Carle
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pognonec
mesh_terms: D004247:DNA / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D005269:Femur / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000473:pathology; D053803:Forensic Genetics; D049429:Forensic Pathology; D005658:Fungi; D006801:Humans; D012987:Soil; D013048:Specimen Handling / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D012987:Soil; D004247:DNA