This chapter presents a brief introduction to the historical development of current technologies used in DNA analysis for human identification. The text describes the development of the PCR and short tandem repeats along with subsequent advances in instrumentation such as real-time PCR and capillary electrophoresis. These techniques have brought about a revolution in DNA typing methods through increased efficiency and the application of multiplex fluorescence detection. More recently the development of new STR based typing methods utilizing mini- and Y-STR PCR multiplexes has increased the flexibility of the investigator, permitting the analysis of inhibited and degraded DNA. Future directions for DNA typing are also discussed, including the development of methods for touch samples based on low copy DNA analysis and the determination of tissue/cell type.
A common problem in forensic DNA typing is PCR inhibition resulting in allele dropout and peak imbalance. In this paper, we have utilized the Plexor(®) real-time PCR quantification kit to evaluate PCR inhibition. This is performed by adding increasing concentrations of various inhibitors and evaluating changes in melt curves and PCR amplification efficiencies. Inhibitors examined included calcium, humic acid, collagen, phenol, tannic acid, hematin, melanin, urea, bile salts, EDTA, and guanidinium thiocyanate. Results were plotted and modeled using mathematical simulations. In general, we found that PCR inhibitors that bind DNA affect melt curves and CT takeoff points while those that affect the Taq polymerase tend to affect the slope of the amplification curve. Mixed mode effects were also visible. Quantitative PCR results were then compared with subsequent STR amplification using the PowerPlex(®) 16 HS System. The overall results demonstrate that real-time PCR can be an effective method to evaluate PCR inhibition and predict its effects on subsequent STR amplifications.
In this paper we compare the effects of three representative PCR inhibitors using quantitative PCR (qPCR) and multiplex STR amplification in order to determine the effect of inhibitor concentration on allele dropout and to develop better ways to interpret forensic DNA data. We have used humic acid, collagen and calcium phosphate at different concentrations to evaluate the profiles of alleles inhibited in these amplifications. These data were correlated with previously obtained results from quantitative PCR including melt curve effects, efficiency changes and cycle threshold (Ct) values. Overall, the data show that there are two competing processes that result from PCR inhibition. The first process is a general loss of larger alleles. This appears to occur with all inhibitors. The second process is more sequence specific and occurs when the inhibitor binds DNA, altering the cycle threshold and the melt curve. This sequence-specific inhibition results in patterns of allele loss that occur in addition to the overall loss of larger alleles. The data demonstrate the applicability of utilizing real-time PCR results to predict the presence of certain types of PCR inhibition in STR analysis.
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