Genetic genealogy for cold case and active investigations

Greytak, Ellen M.; Moore, CeCe; Armentrout, Steven

doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2019.03.039

Cited by 116 publications

(111 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…A significant portion of those had the involvement of Parabon NanoLabs, a company offering forensic services such as genetic genealogy, kinship inference and forensic DNA phenotyping (in this respect see also Wienroth, 2018a). In a more recent publication, members of the company refer to more than 30 law enforcement cases 7 solved by them and their collaborators, such as Barbara Rae-Venter and law enforcement agencies (Greytak, Moore, & Armentrout, 2019).…”

Section: Long-range Familial Searches In Recreational Dna Databasesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Using that method, the investigative technique might, at best, identify close biological relatives (siblings, parents or children). In opposition, long-range familial searches in recreational DNA databases use single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), which are characterized by their informational richness (Greytak et al, 2019;Kennett, 2019;Murphy, 2018). 8 As a result, that kind of use makes more informative data available to law enforcement, while also significantly expanding the network of people that might be affected by such procedures (Murphy, 2018).…”

Section: Long-range Familial Searches In Recreational Dna Databasesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, due to the lack of regulatory norms, several companies in the market reacted differently. Some companies had decided to not allow uploads in their databases, stating that their data is not accessible to law enforcement unless a judicial request is made (Greytak et al, 2019;Kennett, 2019). However, the private company FamilyTreeDNA admitted in February 2019 that, without informing its users, it allowed the FBI to upload genetic profiles created from crime scenes and corpses.…”

Section: Long-range Familial Searches In Recreational Dna Databasesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition to this, since DTC companies obtain DNA from spit kits or cheek swabs, DNA profiles are always based on a large amount of high-quality single-source DNA. In opposition, forensic DNA samples might face several obstacles to an analysis by having only a small amount of degraded DNA and/or being mixed with DNA from other individuals(Greytak et al, 2019).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Emerging DNA Technologies and Stigmatization

Machado

Granja

2020

Forensic Genetics in the Governance of Crime

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Despite their consolidated role in providing evidence for criminal justice, DNA technologies have been subjected to continuous investment that has given rise to the emergence of new DNA technologies. This chapter will focus on such innovations, explaining how forensic genetics is increasingly expanding its role in the criminal justice system. Recent technologies such as familial searching and forensic DNA phenotyping might help to generate intelligence for criminal investigations. Familial searching is a technology that attempts to identify criminal suspects through their genetic connection with relatives. Forensic DNA phenotyping makes it possible to focus on a particular suspect group that shares genetic ancestry and/or externally visible characteristics. The chapter critically reviews the existing debate in the field of social sciences about emerging DNA technologies. The core argument is that the application of DNA phenotyping and familial searching in the governance of crime holds the potential to increase risks of stigmatization and reinforce the criminalization of certain populations who are more vulnerable to the actions of the criminal justice system.

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Section: Long-range Familial Searches In Recreational Dna Databasesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Long-range Familial Searches In Recreational Dna Databasesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Long-range Familial Searches In Recreational Dna Databasesmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Emerging DNA Technologies and Stigmatization

Machado

Granja

2020

Forensic Genetics in the Governance of Crime

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“…SNP arrays have therefore provided the key to unlock genetic genealogy as a forensic investigative tool. However, while the SNP arrays utilized for genetic genealogy by direct-to-consumer (DTC) DNA testing companies have been used on a wide variety of forensic case samples, including bone (9), they require high quantities of intact human DNA (≥ 1 ng) and are sensitive to severe degradation and microbial contamination. Thus SNP arrays are not effective for highly degraded and/or environmentally challenged samples.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Extended kinship analysis of historical remains using SNP capture

Gorden¹,

Greytak

Sturk-Andreaggi

et al. 2020

Preprint

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DNA-assisted identification of historical remains requires the genetic analysis of highly degraded DNA, along with a comparison to DNA from known relatives. This can be achieved by targeting single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) using a hybridization capture and next-generation sequencing approach suitable for degraded skeletal samples. In the present study, two SNP capture panels were designed to target ∼25,000 (25K) and ∼95,000 (95K) autosomal SNPs, respectively, to enable distant kinship estimation (up to 4th degree relatives). Low-coverage SNP data were successfully recovered from 14 skeletal elements 75 years postmortem, with captured DNA having mean insert sizes ranging from 32-170 bp across the 14 samples. SNP comparison with DNA from known family references was performed in the Parabon Fχ Forensic Analysis Platform, which utilizes a likelihood approach for kinship prediction that was optimized for low-coverage sequencing data with DNA damage. The 25K and 95K panels produced 15,000 and 42,000 SNPs on average, respectively allowing for accurate kinship prediction in 17 and 19 of the 21 pairwise comparisons. Whole genome sequencing was not able to produce sufficient SNP data for accurate kinship prediction, demonstrating that hybridization capture is necessary for historical samples. This study provides the groundwork for the expansion of research involving compromised samples to include SNP hybridization capture.Author SummaryOur study evaluates ancient DNA techniques involving SNP capture and Next-Generation Sequencing for use in forensic identification. We utilized bone samples from 14 sets of previously identified historical remains aged 70 years postmortem for low-coverage SNP genotyping and extended kinship analysis. We performed whole genome sequencing and hybridization capture with two SNP panels, one targeting ∼25,000 SNPs and the other targeting ∼95,000 SNPs, to assess SNP recovery and accuracy in kinship estimation. A genotype likelihood approach was utilized for SNP profiling of degraded DNA characterized by cytosine deamination typical of ancient and historical specimens. Family reference samples from known relatives up to 4th degree were genotyped using a SNP microarray. We then utilized the Parabon Fχ Forensic Analysis Platform to perform pairwise comparisons of all bone and reference samples for kinship prediction. The results showed that both capture panels facilitated accurate kinship prediction in more than 80% of the tested relationships without producing false positive matches (or adventitious hits), which were commonly observed in the whole genome sequencing comparisons. We demonstrate that SNP capture can be an effective method for genotyping of historical remains for distant kinship analysis with known relatives, which will support humanitarian efforts and forensic identification.

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Forensic DNA Analysis

Prinz¹,

Lessig²

2022

Handbook of Forensic Medicine

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Genetic genealogy for cold case and active investigations

Cited by 116 publications

References 7 publications

Emerging DNA Technologies and Stigmatization

Emerging DNA Technologies and Stigmatization

Extended kinship analysis of historical remains using SNP capture

Forensic DNA Analysis

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