title: Recommendations of the DNA Commission of the International Society for Forensic Genetics (ISFG) on quality control of autosomal Short Tandem Repeat allele frequency databasing (STRidER).
abstract: The statistical evaluation of autosomal Short Tandem Repeat (STR) genotypes is based on allele frequencies. These are empirically determined from sets of randomly selected human samples, compiled into STR databases that have been established in the course of population genetic studies. There is currently no agreed procedure of performing quality control of STR allele frequency databases, and the reliability and accuracy of the data are largely based on the responsibility of the individual contributing research groups. It has been demonstrated with databases of haploid markers (EMPOP for mitochondrial mtDNA, and YHRD for Y-chromosomal loci) that centralized quality control and data curation is essential to minimize error. The concepts employed for quality control involve software-aided likelihood-of-genotype, phylogenetic, and population genetic checks that allow the researchers to compare novel data to established datasets and, thus, maintain the high quality required in forensic genetics. Here, we present STRidER (http://strider.online), a publicly available, centrally curated online allele frequency database and quality control platform for autosomal STRs. STRidER expands on the previously established ENFSI DNA WG STRbASE and applies standard concepts established for haploid and autosomal markers as well as novel tools to reduce error and increase the quality of autosomal STR data. The platform constitutes a significant improvement and innovation for the scientific community, offering autosomal STR data quality control and reliable STR genotype estimates.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Legal Medicine, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bodner
authors.affiliation: Bundeskriminalamt, Wiesbaden, Germany.
authors.forename: Ingo
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Bastisch
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, USA.
authors.forename: John M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Butler
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Biometry, Informatics and Epidemiology, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Rolf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fimmers
authors.affiliation: Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Department of Forensic Biology, Oslo, Norway; Department of Forensic Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gill
authors.affiliation: DNA Diagnostic Laboratory (LDD), State University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), Brazil; IPATIMUP, Institute of Molecular Pathology and Immunology of the University of Porto, Portugal; Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, University of Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Leonor
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gusmão
authors.affiliation: Section of Forensic Genetics, Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Niels
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Morling
authors.affiliation: Forensic Genetics Unit, Institute of Forensic Sciences, University of Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Phillips
authors.affiliation: Department of Sciences, John Jay College for Criminal Justice, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Mechthild
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Prinz
authors.affiliation: Institute of Legal Medicine, Medical Faculty, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: Peter M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Schneider
authors.affiliation: Institute of Legal Medicine, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria; Forensic Science Program, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA. Electronic address: walther.parson@i-med.ac.at.
authors.forename: Walther
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Parson
mesh_terms: D030541:Databases, Genetic / Q000592:standards*; D053803:Forensic Genetics; D005787:Gene Frequency; D005828:Genetics, Population; D006801:Humans; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats; D011786:Quality Control; D012958:Societies, Scientific
keywords: Forensic genetics; Population data; Quality control; STR database; Short tandem repeat