title: An assessment of a massively parallel sequencing approach for the identification of individuals from mass graves of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939).
abstract: Next-generation sequencing technologies have opened new opportunities in forensic genetics. Here, we assess the applicability and performance of the MiSeq FGx™ & ForenSeq™ DNA Signature Prep Kit (Illumina) for the identification of individuals from the mass graves of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). The main limitations for individual identification are the low number of possible first-degree living relatives and the high levels of DNA degradation reported in previous studies. Massively parallel sequencing technologies enabling the analysis of hundreds of regions and prioritizing short length amplicons constitute a promising tool for this kind of approaches. In this study, we first explore the power of this new technology to detect first- and second-degree kinship given different scenarios of DNA degradation. Second, we specifically assess its performance in a set of low DNA input samples previously analyzed with CE technologies. We conclude that this methodology will allow identification of up to second-degree relatives, even in situations with low sequencing performance and important levels of allele drop-out; it is thus a technology that resolves previous drawbacks and that will allow a successful approximation to the identification of remains.
authors.affiliation: Institut de Biologia Evolutiva (UPF-CSIC), Departament de Ciències Experimentals i de la Salut, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 08003 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
authors.forename: Francesc
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Calafell
authors.affiliation: Genomics Core Facility, Departament de Ciències Experimentals i de la Salut, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Parc de Recerca Biomèdica de Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
authors.forename: Roger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Anglada
authors.affiliation: Genomics Core Facility, Departament de Ciències Experimentals i de la Salut, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Parc de Recerca Biomèdica de Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
authors.forename: Núria
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bonet
authors.affiliation: Unitat d'Antropologia Biològica, Departament de Biologia Animal, Biologia Vegetal i Ecologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
authors.forename: Mercedes
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: González-Ruiz
authors.affiliation: Unitat d'Antropologia Biològica, Departament de Biologia Animal, Biologia Vegetal i Ecologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
authors.forename: Gemma
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Prats-Muñoz
authors.affiliation: Genomics Core Facility, Departament de Ciències Experimentals i de la Salut, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Parc de Recerca Biomèdica de Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
authors.forename: Raquel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rasal
authors.affiliation: Institut de Biologia Evolutiva (UPF-CSIC), Departament de Ciències Experimentals i de la Salut, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 08003 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
authors.forename: Carles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lalueza-Fox
authors.affiliation: Institut de Biologia Evolutiva (UPF-CSIC), Departament de Ciències Experimentals i de la Salut, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 08003 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
authors.forename: Jaume
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bertranpetit
authors.affiliation: Unitat d'Antropologia Biològica, Departament de Biologia Animal, Biologia Vegetal i Ecologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
authors.forename: Assumpció
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Malgosa
authors.affiliation: Genomics Core Facility, Departament de Ciències Experimentals i de la Salut, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Parc de Recerca Biomèdica de Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. ferran.casals@upf.edu.
authors.forename: Ferran
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Casals
mesh_terms: D000068337:Armed Conflicts / Q000266:history*; D002048:Burial / Q000266:history*; D004247:DNA / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D053803:Forensic Genetics / Q000379:methods; D059014:High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing / Q000379:methods*; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D008297:Male; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA / Q000379:methods*; D013030:Spain
chemical_list: D004247:DNA
keywords: Low input DNA; Mass graves; Massively parallel sequencing; Next-generation sequencing; Spanish Civil War