title: Assessment of STR Typing Success Rate in Soft Tissues from Putrefied Bodies Based on a Quantitative Grading System for Putrefaction.
abstract: To date, there is no systematic investigation of the association of short tandem repeat (STR) typing success rate in soft tissues with different signs of putrefaction. Herein, putrefaction was rated using a newly developed 19-parameter system in soft tissues from a collective of 68 decaying bodies, and DNA yield was determined in 408 samples. DNA integrity was rated using a self-devised pentaplex PCR generating an "integrity score" (Si). STR typing success rate was then assessed for selected cases. DNA yield and Si differed significantly between tissues with kidney on average exhibiting the highest Si values. Statistical analysis revealed that nine parameters were significantly and positively correlated with Si . The observed values for each of these nine parameters were summed up to generate a putrefaction score (Sp) for each sample. Our results show that STR typing success rate can be predicted based on Sp before expensive multiplex STR profiling is performed.
authors: Institute of Legal Medicine, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
authors: Cornelius
authors: C
authors: Courts
authors: Institute of Legal Medicine, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
authors: Eva
authors: E
authors: Sauer
authors: Institute of Legal Medicine, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
authors: Yaiza
authors: Y
authors: Hofmann
authors: Institute of Legal Medicine, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
authors: Burkhard
authors: B
authors: Madea
authors: Institute of Legal Medicine, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.|Institute of Legal Medicine, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
authors: Christian
authors: C
authors: Schyma
mesh_terms: D001011:Aorta / Q000737:chemistry; D001923:Brain Chemistry; D004247:DNA / Q000032:analysis*; D016172:DNA Fingerprinting; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007668:Kidney / Q000737:chemistry; D008099:Liver / Q000737:chemistry; D008168:Lung / Q000737:chemistry; D008297:Male; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011180:Postmortem Changes; D016658:Psoas Muscles / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D004247:DNA
keywords: DNA integrity; DNA profiling; disaster victim identification; forensic genetics; forensic science; putrefaction