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Liu Z, Wang J, Li L, Yang H, Yu H, Fan J, Zhang M, Zhang Y, Liu J, Li Z, Zhang G. Identification of the body fluid donor in mixtures through target mRNA cSNP sequencing. Forensic Sci Int Genet 2024; 71:103066. [PMID: 38833776 DOI: 10.1016/j.fsigen.2024.103066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2024] [Revised: 05/08/2024] [Accepted: 05/26/2024] [Indexed: 06/06/2024]
Abstract
In forensic practice, mixture stains containing various body fluids are common, presenting challenges for interpretation, particularly in multi-contributor mixtures. Traditional STR profiles face difficulties in such scenarios. Over recent years, RNA has emerged as a promising biomarker for body fluid identification, and mRNA polymorphism has shown excellent performance in identifying body fluid donors in previous studies. In this study, a massively parallel sequencing assay was developed, encompassing 202 coding region SNPs (cSNPs) from 45 body fluid/tissue-specific genes to identify both body fluid/tissue origin and the respective donors, including blood, saliva, semen, vaginal secretion, menstrual blood, and skin. The specificity was evaluated by examining the single-source body fluids/tissue and revealed that the same body fluid exhibited similar expression profiles and the tissue origin could be identified. For laboratory-generated mixtures containing 2-6 different components and mock case mixtures, the donor of each component could be successfully identified, except for the skin donor. The discriminatory power for all body fluids ranged from 0.997176329 (menstrual blood) to 0.99999999827 (blood). The concordance of DNA typing and mRNA typing for the cSNPs in this system was also validated. This cSNP typing system exhibits excellent performance in mixture deconvolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zidong Liu
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong, Shanxi 030619, China
| | - Jiaqi Wang
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong, Shanxi 030619, China
| | - Lishan Li
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong, Shanxi 030619, China
| | - Hailing Yang
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong, Shanxi 030619, China
| | - Huan Yu
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong, Shanxi 030619, China
| | - Jiajia Fan
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong, Shanxi 030619, China
| | - Mingming Zhang
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong, Shanxi 030619, China
| | - Yuxin Zhang
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong, Shanxi 030619, China
| | - Jinding Liu
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong, Shanxi 030619, China
| | - Zeqin Li
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong, Shanxi 030619, China
| | - Gengqian Zhang
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong, Shanxi 030619, China.
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2
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Tang X, Wen D, Jin X, Wang C, Xu W, Qu W, Xu R, Jia H, Liu Y, Li X, Chen S, Fu X, Liang B, Li J, Liu Y, Zha L. A preliminary study on identification of the blood donor in a body fluid mixture using a novel compound genetic marker blood-specific methylation-microhaplotype. Forensic Sci Int Genet 2024; 70:103031. [PMID: 38493735 DOI: 10.1016/j.fsigen.2024.103031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2023] [Revised: 03/06/2024] [Accepted: 03/06/2024] [Indexed: 03/19/2024]
Abstract
Blood-containing mixtures are frequently encountered at crime scenes involving violence and murder. However, the presence of blood, and the association of blood with a specific donor within these mixtures present significant challenges in forensic analysis. In light of these challenges, this study sought to address these issues by leveraging blood-specific methylation sites and closely linked microhaplotype sites, proposing a novel composite genetic marker known as "blood-specific methylation-microhaplotype". This marker was designed to the detection of blood and the determination of blood donor within blood-containing mixtures. According to the selection criteria mentioned in the Materials and Methods section, we selected 10 blood-specific methylation-microhaplotype loci for inclusion in this study. Among these loci, eight exhibited blood-specific hypomethylation, while the remaining two displayed blood-specific hypermethylation. Based on data obtained from 124 individual samples in our study, the combined discrimination power (CPD) of these 10 successfully sequenced loci was 0.999999298. The sample allele methylation rate (Ram) was obtained from massive parallel sequencing (MPS), which was defined as the proportion of methylated reads to the total clustered reads that were genotyped to a specific allele. To develop an allele type classification model capable of identifying the presence of blood and the blood donor, we used the Random Forest algorithm. This model was trained and evaluated using the Ram distribution of individual samples and the Ram distribution of simulated shared alleles. Subsequently, we applied the developed allele type classification model to predict alleles within actual mixtures, trying to exclude non-blood-specific alleles, ultimately allowing us to identify the presence of blood and the blood donor in the blood-containing mixtures. Our findings demonstrate that these blood-specific methylation-microhaplotype loci have the capability to not only detect the presence of blood but also accurately associate blood with the true donor in blood-containing mixtures with the mixing ratios of 1:29, 1:19, 1:9, 1:4, 1:2, 2:1, 7:1, 8:1, 31:1 and 36:1 (blood:non-blood) by DNA mixture interpretation methods. In addition, the presence of blood and the true blood donor could be identified in a mixture containing four body fluids (blood:vaginal fluid:semen:saliva = 1:1:1:1). It is important to note that while these loci exhibit great potential, the impact of allele dropouts and alleles misidentification must be considered when interpreting the results. This is a preliminary study utilising blood-specific methylation-microhaplotype as a complementary tool to other well-established genetic markers (STR, SNP, microhaplotype, etc.) for the analysis in blood-containing mixtures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuan Tang
- Department of Forensic Medicine, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Central South University, No172. Tongzipo Road, Changsha, Hunan 410013, PR China
| | - Dan Wen
- Department of Forensic Medicine, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Central South University, No172. Tongzipo Road, Changsha, Hunan 410013, PR China
| | - Xin Jin
- Department of Public Security of Hainan Province, Haikou, Hainan Province, PR China
| | - Chudong Wang
- Department of Forensic Medicine, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Central South University, No172. Tongzipo Road, Changsha, Hunan 410013, PR China
| | - Wei Xu
- Central Laboratory, Hunan Provincal People's Hospital (The First Affiliated Hospitak of Hunan Normal University), Changsha, Hunan Province 410000, PR China
| | - Weifeng Qu
- Department of Forensic Medicine, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Central South University, No172. Tongzipo Road, Changsha, Hunan 410013, PR China
| | - Ruyi Xu
- Department of Forensic Medicine, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Central South University, No172. Tongzipo Road, Changsha, Hunan 410013, PR China
| | - Hongtao Jia
- Department of Forensic Medicine, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Central South University, No172. Tongzipo Road, Changsha, Hunan 410013, PR China
| | - Yi Liu
- Department of Forensic Medicine, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Central South University, No172. Tongzipo Road, Changsha, Hunan 410013, PR China
| | - Xue Li
- Department of Forensic Medicine, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, Xinjiang 830017, PR China
| | - Siqi Chen
- Department of Forensic Medicine, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Central South University, No172. Tongzipo Road, Changsha, Hunan 410013, PR China
| | - Xiaoyi Fu
- Department of Forensic Medicine, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Central South University, No172. Tongzipo Road, Changsha, Hunan 410013, PR China
| | - Bin Liang
- Department of Forensic Medicine, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Central South University, No172. Tongzipo Road, Changsha, Hunan 410013, PR China
| | - Jienan Li
- Department of Forensic Medicine, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Central South University, No172. Tongzipo Road, Changsha, Hunan 410013, PR China
| | - Ying Liu
- Xiangya Stomatological Collage, Central South University, No72. Xiangya Road, Changsha, Hunan 410013, PR China.
| | - Lagabaiyila Zha
- Department of Forensic Medicine, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Central South University, No172. Tongzipo Road, Changsha, Hunan 410013, PR China; Hebei Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, School of Forensic Medicine, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, PR China.
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3
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Li Z, Liu N, Yuan F, Guan Z, Liu J, Liu F, Ren J, Yan J, Zhang G. Development of a novel panel for blood identification based on blood-specific CpG-linked SNP markers. Int J Legal Med 2024; 138:1205-1219. [PMID: 37853302 DOI: 10.1007/s00414-023-03105-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2023] [Accepted: 09/27/2023] [Indexed: 10/20/2023]
Abstract
Blood-containing mixtures often appear in murder and robbery cases, and their identification plays a significant role in solving crimes. In recent years, the co-detection of DNA methylation markers (CpG) and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers has been shown to be a promising tool for the identification of semen and its donor. However, similar research on blood stains that are frequently found at crime scenes has not yet been reported. In this study, we employed blood-specific CpG-linked SNP markers (CpG-SNP) for blood-specific genotyping and the linking of blood and its donor. The tissue-specific CpG markers were screened from the literature and further verified by combining bisulfite conversion with amplification-refractory mutation system (ARMS) technology. Meanwhile, adjacent SNP markers with a minor allele frequency (MAF) greater than 0.1 were selected within 400 bp upstream and downstream of the CpG markers. SNP genotyping was performed using SNaPshot technology on a capillary electrophoresis (CE) platform. Finally, a multiplex panel, including 19 blood-specific CpG linked to 23 SNP markers, as well as 1 semen-specific CpG, 1 vaginal secretion-specific CpG, and 1 saliva-specific CpG marker, was constructed successfully. The panel showed good tissue specificity and blood stains stored at room temperature for up to nine months and moderately degraded (4 < DI < 10) could be effectively identified. Moreover, it could also be detected when blood content in the mixed stains was as low as 1%. In addition, 15 ng of DNA used for bisulfite conversion was required for obtaining a complete profile. The cumulative discrimination power of the panel among the Han population of northern China could reach 0.999983. This is the first investigation conducted for the simultaneous identification of blood and its donor regardless of other body fluids included in mixed stains. The successful construction of the panel will play a vital role in the comprehensive analysis of blood-containing mixtures in forensic practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zeqin Li
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong, 030600, Shanxi, China
- Shanxi Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Jinzhong, 030600, Shanxi, China
| | - Na Liu
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong, 030600, Shanxi, China
- Shanxi Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Jinzhong, 030600, Shanxi, China
| | - Fang Yuan
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong, 030600, Shanxi, China
- Shanxi Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Jinzhong, 030600, Shanxi, China
| | - Zimeng Guan
- Department of Biotechnology, Biomedical Sciences College, Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan, 250117, Shandong, China
| | - Jinding Liu
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong, 030600, Shanxi, China
- Shanxi Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Jinzhong, 030600, Shanxi, China
| | - Feng Liu
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong, 030600, Shanxi, China
- Shanxi Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Jinzhong, 030600, Shanxi, China
| | - Jianbo Ren
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong, 030600, Shanxi, China
- Shanxi Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Jinzhong, 030600, Shanxi, China
| | - Jiangwei Yan
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong, 030600, Shanxi, China.
- Shanxi Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Jinzhong, 030600, Shanxi, China.
| | - Gengqian Zhang
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong, 030600, Shanxi, China.
- Shanxi Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Jinzhong, 030600, Shanxi, China.
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4
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Wang S, Jiang T, Yuan C, Wu L, Zhen X, Lei Y, Xie B, Tao R, Li C. An mRNA profiling assay incorporating coding region InDels for body fluid identification and the inference of the donor in mixed samples. Forensic Sci Int Genet 2024; 69:102979. [PMID: 38043150 DOI: 10.1016/j.fsigen.2023.102979] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2023] [Revised: 11/23/2023] [Accepted: 11/23/2023] [Indexed: 12/05/2023]
Abstract
Biological traces discovered at crime scenes hold significant significance in forensic investigations. In cases involving mixed body fluid stains, the evidentiary value of DNA profiles depends on the type of body fluid from which the DNA was obtained. Recently, coding region polymorphism analysis has proved to be a promising method for directly linking specific body fluids to their respective DNA contributors in mixtures, which may help to avoid "association fallacy" between separate DNA and RNA evidence. In this study, we present an update on previously reported coding region Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (cSNPs) by exploring the potential application of coding region Insertion/Deletion polymorphisms (cInDels). Nine promising cInDels, selected from 70 mRNA markers based on stringent screening criteria, were integrated into an existing mRNA profiling assay. Subsequently, the body fluid specificity of our cInDel assay and the genotyping consistency between complementary DNA (cDNA) and genomic DNA (gDNA) were examined. Our study demonstrates that cInDels can function as important multifunctional genetic markers, as they provide not only the ability to confirm the presence of forensically relevant body fluids, but also the ability to associate/dissociate specific body fluids with particular donors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shouyu Wang
- Department of Forensic Medicine, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Tingting Jiang
- Department of Forensic Genetics, School of Forensic Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Chunyan Yuan
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Shanghai Forensic Service Platform, Academy of Forensic Sciences, Ministry of Justice, PR China, Shanghai 200063, China
| | - Liming Wu
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Shanghai Forensic Service Platform, Academy of Forensic Sciences, Ministry of Justice, PR China, Shanghai 200063, China
| | - Xiaoyuan Zhen
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Shanghai Forensic Service Platform, Academy of Forensic Sciences, Ministry of Justice, PR China, Shanghai 200063, China
| | - Yinlei Lei
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Shanghai Forensic Service Platform, Academy of Forensic Sciences, Ministry of Justice, PR China, Shanghai 200063, China
| | - Baoyan Xie
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Shanghai Forensic Service Platform, Academy of Forensic Sciences, Ministry of Justice, PR China, Shanghai 200063, China
| | - Ruiyang Tao
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Shanghai Forensic Service Platform, Academy of Forensic Sciences, Ministry of Justice, PR China, Shanghai 200063, China.
| | - Chengtao Li
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Shanghai Forensic Service Platform, Academy of Forensic Sciences, Ministry of Justice, PR China, Shanghai 200063, China; Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China; Department of Forensic Genetics, School of Forensic Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China.
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5
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Liu Y, Fan J, Zhang M, Liu Z, Wang J, Liu J, Li Z, Yang F, Zhang G. A human identification system for hair shaft using RNA polymorphism. Forensic Sci Int Genet 2023; 67:102929. [PMID: 37611365 DOI: 10.1016/j.fsigen.2023.102929] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2023] [Revised: 08/06/2023] [Accepted: 08/08/2023] [Indexed: 08/25/2023]
Abstract
Hair is one of the common pieces of evidence at crime scenes, with abundant mitochondrial DNA but limited nuclear DNA in its shaft. It also helps to narrow the investigation scope to maternal lineage but fails to provide unique individual information. We assumed that RNA in hair shafts would be an alternative resource used to perform human identification based on the facts that (1) RNA retains the polymorphic information; (2) the multi-copy of RNA in a cell resists degradation as compared to the one-copy of nuclear DNA. In this study, we explored the potential of RNA polymorphism in hair shafts for forensic individual identification. A SNaPshot typing system was constructed using 18 SNPs located on 11 genes (ABCA13, AHNAK, EXPH5, KMT2D, KRT35, PPP1R15A, RBM33, S100A5, TBC1D4, TMC5, TRPV2). The RNA typing system was evaluated for sensitivity, species specificity, and feasibility for aged hair samples. Hair samples from a Shanxi population in China were used for the population study of the system. The detection limit of the assay was 2 ng RNA. The CDP of these 11 genes was 0.999969 in the Shanxi population. We also identified the concordance of the RNA and DNA typing results. In summary, we developed an RNA typing method to perform human identification from hair shafts, which performed as accurately as nuclear DNA typing. Our method provides a potential basis for solving the human identification problem from hair shafts, as well as other biological materials that lack nuclear DNA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yao Liu
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong 030619, Shanxi, China
| | - Jiajia Fan
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong 030619, Shanxi, China
| | - Mingming Zhang
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong 030619, Shanxi, China
| | - Zidong Liu
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong 030619, Shanxi, China
| | - Jiaqi Wang
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong 030619, Shanxi, China
| | - Jinding Liu
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong 030619, Shanxi, China
| | - Zeqin Li
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong 030619, Shanxi, China
| | - Fan Yang
- Institute of Forensic Science, Ministry of Public Security, Beijing 100038, China.
| | - Gengqian Zhang
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong 030619, Shanxi, China.
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6
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Li Z, Li Y, Liu N, Yuan F, Liu F, Liu J, Yun K, Yan J, Zhang G. Typing of semen-containing mixtures using ARMS-based semen-specific CpG-InDel/STR markers. Int J Legal Med 2022; 136:1163-1176. [PMID: 35633397 DOI: 10.1007/s00414-022-02843-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2022] [Accepted: 05/19/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Mixed traces are common biological materials found at crime scenes, and their identification remains a significant challenge in the field of forensic genetics. In recent years, DNA methylation has been considered as a promising approach for body fluid identification, and length polymorphic loci are still the preferred markers for personal identification. In this study, we used tissue-specific CpG sites with linked insertion or deletion (InDel) or short tandem repeat (STR) markers (CpG-InDel/STR) for both body fluid and individual identification. The tissue-specific CpG loci, which were all selected from the previous reports, were analyzed using a combination of bisulfite conversion and amplification refractory mutation system-multiprimer-PCR technology. InDels or STRs, which were selected within 400 bp upstream or downstream of the semen-specific CpG loci, were analyzed using a capillary electrophoresis platform. Eventually, we successfully constructed a panel containing 17 semen-specific CpG-InDel/STR compound markers compassing 21 InDels/STRs, 3 body-fluid positive controls (vaginal secretion-, saliva-, and blood-specific CpG), and 1 gender identification locus. Using this panel, full genotyping of individuals could be obtained successfully with 50 ng DNA input. Semen stains stored at room temperature for 7 months and degraded samples that were heat treated for up to 6 h were still identified efficiently. For semen containing mixed stains, it is also useful when the semen content is as low as 3.03%. Moreover, the cumulative discrimination power of this panel is 0.9999998. In conclusion, it is a robust panel enabling the validation of both the tissue source and individual identification of semen containing mixed stains and can be employed as an alternative solution for forensic case investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zeqin Li
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong, Shanxi, 030619, People's Republic of China
| | - Yidan Li
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong, Shanxi, 030619, People's Republic of China
| | - Na Liu
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong, Shanxi, 030619, People's Republic of China
| | - Fang Yuan
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong, Shanxi, 030619, People's Republic of China
| | - Feng Liu
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong, Shanxi, 030619, People's Republic of China
| | - Jinding Liu
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong, Shanxi, 030619, People's Republic of China
| | - Keming Yun
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong, Shanxi, 030619, People's Republic of China
| | - Jiangwei Yan
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong, Shanxi, 030619, People's Republic of China.
| | - Gengqian Zhang
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong, Shanxi, 030619, People's Republic of China.
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7
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Identification of the vaginal secretion donor in mixture stains using polymorphic cSNPs on mRNA biomarkers. Forensic Sci Int Genet 2022; 59:102703. [DOI: 10.1016/j.fsigen.2022.102703] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2021] [Revised: 03/27/2022] [Accepted: 03/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
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Li Z, Li J, Li Y, Liu N, Liu F, Ren J, Yun K, Yan J, Zhang G. Development of a multiplex methylation-sensitive restriction enzyme-based SNP typing system for deconvolution of semen-containing mixtures. Int J Legal Med 2021; 135:1281-1294. [PMID: 33813614 DOI: 10.1007/s00414-021-02552-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2021] [Accepted: 02/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The identification of mixed stains has always been a difficult problem in personal identification in the forensic field. In recent years, tissue-specific methylation sites have proven to be very stable biomarkers for distinguishing tissue origin. However, it is still challenging to perform tissue source identification and individual identification simultaneously. In this study, we developed a method that uses tissue-specific methylation markers combined with single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers to detect semen from mixed biofluids and to identify individuals simultaneously. Semen-specific CpG markers were chosen from the literature and further validated utilizing methylation-sensitive restriction endonuclease (MSRE) combined with PCR technology. The neighboring SNP markers were searched in the flanking sequence of the target CpG within 400 bp, and SNP typing was then carried out through a single-base extension reaction followed by capillary electrophoresis. Eventually, a method of MSRE combined with SNaPshot that could detect 12 compound CpG-SNP markers was developed. Using this system, 10 ng of total DNA and DNA mixture with semen content up to 25% could be typed successfully. Moreover, the cumulative discrimination power of the system in the northern Chinese Han population is 0.9998. This study provides a valuable strategy for forensic practice to perform tissue origin and individual identification from mixed stains simultaneously.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zeqin Li
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong, Shanxi, 030619, People's Republic of China
| | - Jintao Li
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong, Shanxi, 030619, People's Republic of China
| | - Yidan Li
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong, Shanxi, 030619, People's Republic of China
| | - Na Liu
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong, Shanxi, 030619, People's Republic of China
| | - Feng Liu
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong, Shanxi, 030619, People's Republic of China
| | - Jianbo Ren
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong, Shanxi, 030619, People's Republic of China
| | - Keming Yun
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong, Shanxi, 030619, People's Republic of China.
| | - Jiangwei Yan
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong, Shanxi, 030619, People's Republic of China.
| | - Gengqian Zhang
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong, Shanxi, 030619, People's Republic of China.
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9
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Haas C, Neubauer J, Salzmann AP, Hanson E, Ballantyne J. Forensic transcriptome analysis using massively parallel sequencing. Forensic Sci Int Genet 2021; 52:102486. [PMID: 33657509 DOI: 10.1016/j.fsigen.2021.102486] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2020] [Revised: 02/11/2021] [Accepted: 02/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
The application of transcriptome analyses in forensic genetics has experienced tremendous growth and development in the past decade. The earliest studies and main applications were body fluid and tissue identification, using targeted RNA transcripts and a reverse transcription endpoint PCR method. A number of markers have been identified for the forensically most relevant body fluids and tissues and the method has been successfully used in casework. The introduction of Massively Parallel Sequencing (MPS) opened up new perspectives and opportunities to advance the field. Contrary to genomic DNA where two copies of an autosomal DNA segment are present in a cell, abundant RNA species are expressed in high copy numbers. Even whole transcriptome sequencing (RNA-Seq) of forensically relevant body fluids and of postmortem material was shown to be possible. This review gives an overview on forensic transcriptome analyses and applications. The methods cover whole transcriptome as well as targeted MPS approaches. High resolution forensic transcriptome analyses using MPS are being applied to body fluid/ tissue identification, determination of the age of stains and the age of the donor, the estimation of the post-mortem interval and to post mortem death investigations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cordula Haas
- University of Zurich, Zurich Institute of Forensic Medicine, Forensic Genetics, Winterthurerstrasse 190/52, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Jacqueline Neubauer
- University of Zurich, Zurich Institute of Forensic Medicine, Forensic Genetics, Winterthurerstrasse 190/52, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Andrea Patrizia Salzmann
- University of Zurich, Zurich Institute of Forensic Medicine, Forensic Genetics, Winterthurerstrasse 190/52, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Erin Hanson
- National Center for Forensic Science, University of Central Florida, 12354 Research Parkway, Suite 225, Orlando, FL 32826, USA
| | - Jack Ballantyne
- National Center for Forensic Science, University of Central Florida, 12354 Research Parkway, Suite 225, Orlando, FL 32826, USA; Department of Chemistry, National Center for Forensic Science, University of Central Florida, 12354 Research Parkway, Suite 225, Orlando, FL 32826, USA
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10
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Liu J, Cheng X, Liu F, Hao T, Wang J, Guo J, Li J, Liu Z, Li W, Shi J, Zhang X, Li J, Yan J, Zhang G. Identification of coding region SNPs from specific and sensitive mRNA biomarkers for the deconvolution of the semen donor in a body fluid mixture. Forensic Sci Int Genet 2021; 52:102483. [PMID: 33610949 DOI: 10.1016/j.fsigen.2021.102483] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2020] [Revised: 01/27/2021] [Accepted: 02/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
mRNA markers provide a very promising method for the identification of human body fluids or tissues in the context of forensic investigations. Previous studies have shown that different body fluids can be distinguished from each other according to their specific mRNA biomarkers. In this study, we evaluated eight semen-specific mRNA markers (KLK3, NKX3-1, CKB, KLK2, PRAC1, SEMG1, TGM4, and SORD) that encompass 12 coding single nucleotide polymorphisms (cSNPs) to identify the semen contributor in a mixed stain. Five highly specific and sensitive mRNA markers for blood, menstrual blood, saliva, vaginal secretions, and skin were also incorporated into the PCR system as body fluid-positive controls. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), multiplex PCR and SNaPshot mini-sequencing assays were established for the identification of semen-specific mRNA. The amplicon size ranged from 133 to 337 bp. The semen-specific system was examined against blood, menstrual blood, saliva, vaginal secretions, and skin swabs. The eight mRNA biomarkers were semen-specific and could be successfully typed in laboratory-generated mixtures composed of different body fluids supplemented with 1 ng of semen cDNA. This system possessed a high sensitivity that ranged from 1:10-1:100 for detecting trace amounts of semen in semen-containing body fluid mixtures. Additionally, our results demonstrated that the cSNPs polymorphisms included in the mRNA markers were concordant with genomic DNA (gDNA). Despite the presence of other body fluids, the system exhibited high sensitivity and specificity to the semen in the mixture. In future studies, we will add other cSNPs from the semen-specific genes using massively parallel sequencing to further improve our system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinding Liu
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong 030619, Shanxi, China
| | - Xiaojuan Cheng
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong 030619, Shanxi, China
| | - Feng Liu
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong 030619, Shanxi, China
| | - Ting Hao
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong 030619, Shanxi, China
| | - Jiaqi Wang
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong 030619, Shanxi, China
| | - Jiangling Guo
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong 030619, Shanxi, China
| | - Jintao Li
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong 030619, Shanxi, China
| | - Zidong Liu
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong 030619, Shanxi, China
| | - Wenyan Li
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong 030619, Shanxi, China
| | - Jie Shi
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong 030619, Shanxi, China
| | - Xiuying Zhang
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong 030619, Shanxi, China
| | - Jing Li
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong 030619, Shanxi, China
| | - Jiangwei Yan
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong 030619, Shanxi, China.
| | - Gengqian Zhang
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong 030619, Shanxi, China.
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