title: Dog mitochondrial genome sequencing to enhance dog mtDNA discrimination power in forensic casework.
abstract: A Belgian dog population sample and several population studies worldwide have confirmed that only a limited number of mtDNA control region haplotypes is observed in the majority of dogs. The high population frequency of these haplotypes negatively impacts both the exclusion probability of dog mtDNA analysis and the evidential value of a match with one of these haplotypes in casework. Variation within the mtDNA coding region was explored to improve the discrimination power of dog mtDNA analysis. In the current study, the entire mitochondrial genome of 161 dogs was sequenced applying a quality assured strategy and resulted in a total of 119 different mitochondrial genome sequences. Our research was focused on those dogs with the six most common control region haplotypes from a previous Belgian population study. We identified 33 informative SNPs that successfully divide the six most common control region haplotypes into 32 clusters of mitochondrial genome sequences. Determining the identity of these 33 polymorphic sites in addition to control region sequencing in case of a match with one of these 6 control region haplotypes could augment the exclusion probability of forensic dog mtDNA analysis from 92.5% to 97.5%.
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Criminalistics and Criminology, Vilvoordsesteenweg 100, B-1120 Brussels, Belgium; University of Antwerp (Evolutionary Ecology Group), Groenenborgerlaan 171, B-2020 Antwerp, Belgium. Electronic address: sophie.verscheure@just.fgov.be.
authors.forename: Sophie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Verscheure
authors.affiliation: University of Antwerp (Evolutionary Ecology Group), Groenenborgerlaan 171, B-2020 Antwerp, Belgium; Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (OD "Taxonomy and Phylogeny" and JEMU), Vautierstraat 29, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Thierry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Backeljau
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Criminalistics and Criminology, Vilvoordsesteenweg 100, B-1120 Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Stijn
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Desmyter
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics*; D004285:Dogs / Q000235:genetics*; D053803:Forensic Genetics; D054629:Genome, Mitochondrial; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial
keywords: Dog; Forensics; Informative single nucleotide polymorphisms; Whole mitochondrial genome