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Lozano-Peral D, Rubio L, Santos I, Gaitán MJ, Viguera E, Martín-de-Las-Heras S. DNA degradation in human teeth exposed to thermal stress. Sci Rep 2021; 11:12118. [PMID: 34108558 PMCID: PMC8190102 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-91505-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2020] [Accepted: 05/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Human identification from burned remains poses a challenge to forensic laboratories, and DNA profiling is widely used for this purpose. Our aim was to evaluate the effect of temperature on DNA degradation in human teeth. Thirty teeth were exposed to temperatures of 100, 200, or 400 °C for 60 min. DNA was quantified by Real-Time qPCR (Quantifiler Human DNA Quantification Kit) and fluorescence spectroscopy (Qubit 3.0 Fluorometer). DNA degradation was evaluated by using STR markers (AmpFLSTR Identifiler Plus PCR Amplification Kit) to determine the allele and locus dropout, inter-locus balance, and degradation slope (observed (Oa) to expected (Ea) locus peak height ratio against the molecular weight). Most of the genomic DNA was degraded between 100 °C and 200 °C. At 100 °C, locus dropout ratios showed significant differences between the largest loci (FGA, D7S820, D18S51, D16S539, D2S1338 and CSF1PO) and amelogenin. Inter-locus balance values significantly differed between all dye channels except between NED and PET. The dropout ratio between D18S51 (NED) and amelogenin (PET) can be recommended for the evaluation of DNA degradation. The Oa/Ea regression model can predict locus peak heights in DNA degradation (R2 = 0.7881). These findings may be useful to assess the reliability of DNA typing for human identification in teeth subjected to prolonged incineration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diego Lozano-Peral
- Department of Forensic Dentistry and Medicine, Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Málaga-IBIMA (CE-18), School of Medicine, University of Malaga, 29071, Malaga, Spain
- Supercomputing and Bioinnovation Center, Servicios Centrales de Apoyo a la Investigación, University of Malaga, 29590, Malaga, Spain
| | - Leticia Rubio
- Department of Forensic Dentistry and Medicine, Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Málaga-IBIMA (CE-18), School of Medicine, University of Malaga, 29071, Malaga, Spain.
| | - Ignacio Santos
- Department of Forensic Dentistry and Medicine, Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Málaga-IBIMA (CE-18), School of Medicine, University of Malaga, 29071, Malaga, Spain
| | - María Jesús Gaitán
- Department of Forensic Dentistry and Medicine, Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Málaga-IBIMA (CE-18), School of Medicine, University of Malaga, 29071, Malaga, Spain
| | - Enrique Viguera
- Department of Cellular Biology, Genetics and Physiology, University of Malaga, 29071, Malaga, Spain
| | - Stella Martín-de-Las-Heras
- Department of Forensic Dentistry and Medicine, Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Málaga-IBIMA (CE-18), School of Medicine, University of Malaga, 29071, Malaga, Spain
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Simoes Dutra Correa H, Cortellini V, Brescia G, Verzeletti A. Human identification through DNA analysis of restored postmortem teeth. Forensic Sci Int Genet 2020; 47:102302. [DOI: 10.1016/j.fsigen.2020.102302] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2020] [Revised: 04/15/2020] [Accepted: 04/16/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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