Technical Note: Lysis and purification methods for increased recovery of degraded DNA from touch deposit swabs

Burrill, Julia; Daniel, Barbara; Frascione, Nunzianda

doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2021.111102

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Conversely, for the samples with sufficient amounts of DNA, potential mixtures are expected to consist primarily of patient DNA, which comes from blood material with a comparatively higher concentration than the smaller amounts from contact traces, e.g., epithelial cells, which are left behind when touching the imprints. In addition, touch DNA is likely more susceptible to degradation and declines more rapidly over time compared to the patient’s blood samples [ 79 – 81 ]. As STR profiling would have required enhanced ethics approval, given the inclusion of personalized patient data, an initial assessment of the usability of historical bloodstains was performed by DNA quantification.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the potential of genetic analysis in historical blood spots for patients with iodine-deficient goiter and thyroid carcinomas in Switzerland and Germany (1929–1989)

Schulte,

Hotz,

Szinnai

et al. 2024

BMC Med Genomics

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Iodine deficiency-induced goiter continues to be a global public health concern, with varying manifestations based on geography, patient’s age, and sex. To gain insights into clinical occurrences, a retrospective study analyzed medical records from patients with iodine deficiency-induced goiter or thyroid cancer who underwent surgery at the Community Hospital in Riehen, Switzerland, between 1929 and 1989. Despite today’s adequate iodine supplementation, a significant risk for iodine-independent goiter remains in Switzerland, suggesting that genetic factors, among others, might be involved. Thus, a pilot study exploring the feasibility of genetic analysis of blood spots from these medical records was conducted to investigate and enhance the understanding of goiter development, potentially identify genetic variations, and explore the influence of dietary habits and other environmental stimuli on the disease.Blood prints from goiter patients’ enlarged organs were collected per decade from medical records. These prints had been made by pressing, drawing, or tracing (i.e., pressed and drawn) the removed organs onto paper sheets. DNA analysis revealed that its yields varied more between the prints than between years. A considerable proportion of the samples exhibited substantial DNA degradation unrelated to sample collection time and DNA mixtures of different contributors. Thus, each goiter imprint must be individually evaluated and cannot be used to predict the success rate of genetic analysis in general. Collecting a large sample or the entire blood ablation for genetic analysis is recommended to mitigate potential insufficient DNA quantities. Researchers should also consider degradation and external biological compounds’ impact on the genetic analysis of interest, with the dominant contributor anticipated to originate from the patient’s blood.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the potential of genetic analysis in historical blood spots for patients with iodine-deficient goiter and thyroid carcinomas in Switzerland and Germany (1929–1989)

Schulte,

Hotz,

Szinnai

et al. 2024

BMC Med Genomics

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“…However, touch DNA samples are generally known to contain low levels of DNA [ 13 ] and the presence of degraded genetic material, regardless of its origin, makes genotype detection challenging [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Reports of fragmented DNA traces deposited from freshly washed hands suggest that DNA alteration begins within the organism [12]. However, touch DNA samples are generally known to contain low levels of DNA [13] and the presence of degraded genetic material, regardless of its origin, makes genotype detection challenging [14][15][16][17][18][19][20].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Touch DNA Sampling Methods: Efficacy Evaluation and Systematic Review

Tozzo

Mazzobel

Marcante

et al. 2022

IJMS

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Collection and interpretation of “touch DNA” from crime scenes represent crucial steps during criminal investigations, with clear consequences in courtrooms. Although the main aspects of this type of evidence have been extensively studied, some controversial issues remain. For instance, there is no conclusive evidence indicating which sampling method results in the highest rate of biological material recovery. Thus, this study aimed to describe the actual considerations on touch DNA and to compare three different sampling procedures, which were “single-swab”, “double-swab”, and “other methods” (i.e., cutting out, adhesive tape, FTA® paper scraping), based on the experimental results published in the recent literature. The data analysis performed shows the higher efficiency of the single-swab method in DNA recovery in a wide variety of experimental settings. On the contrary, the double-swab technique and other methods do not seem to improve recovery rates. Despite the apparent discrepancy with previous research, these results underline certain limitations inherent to the sampling procedures investigated. The application of this information to forensic investigations and laboratories could improve operative standard procedures and enhance this almost fundamental investigative tool’s probative value.

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