1
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Obal M, Zupanc T, Zupanič Pajnič I. Comparison of the optimal and suboptimal quantity of mitotype libraries using next-generation sequencing. Int J Legal Med 2024; 138:395-400. [PMID: 37776378 PMCID: PMC10861744 DOI: 10.1007/s00414-023-03099-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2023] [Accepted: 09/20/2023] [Indexed: 10/02/2023]
Abstract
Optimizing analysis parameters and sample input is crucial in forensic genetics methods to generate reliable results, and even more so when working with muti-copy mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and low-quality samples. This study compared mitotypes based on next-generation sequencing (NGS) results derived from the same samples at two different sequencing library concentrations-30 pM and 0.3 pM. Thirty femur samples from the Second World War were used as a model for poorly preserved DNA. Quantitative PCR (qPCR) method targeting 113 bp long fragment was employed to assess the quantity of mitogenomes. HID Ion Chef™ Instrument with Precision ID mtDNA Control Region Panel was used for library preparation and templating. Sequencing was performed with Ion GeneStudio™ S5 System. Reference haplotypes were determined from sequencing samples at 30 pM library input. Haplotypes were compared between optimal (30 pM) and suboptimal (0.3 pM) library inputs. Often the difference in haplotypes was length heteroplasmy, which in line with other studies shows that this type of variant is not reliable for interpretation in forensics. Excluding length variants at positions 573, 309, and 16,193, 56.7% of the samples matched, and in two samples, no sequence was obtained at suboptimal library input. The rest of the samples differed between optimal and suboptimal library input. To conclude, genotyping and analyzing low-quantity libraries derived from low-quality aged skeletonized human remains therefore must be done with caution in forensic genetics casework.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcel Obal
- Institute of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Korytkova 2, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Tomaž Zupanc
- Institute of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Korytkova 2, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Irena Zupanič Pajnič
- Institute of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Korytkova 2, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
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2
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Sturk-Andreaggi K, Bodner M, Ring JD, Ameur A, Gyllensten U, Parson W, Marshall C, Allen M. Complete Mitochondrial DNA Genome Variation in the Swedish Population. Genes (Basel) 2023; 14:1989. [PMID: 38002932 PMCID: PMC10671102 DOI: 10.3390/genes14111989] [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: 09/03/2023] [Revised: 10/04/2023] [Accepted: 10/19/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
The development of complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) reference data for inclusion in publicly available population databases is currently underway, and the generation of more high-quality mitogenomes will only enhance the statistical power of this forensically useful locus. To characterize mitogenome variation in Sweden, the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) reads from the SweGen whole genome sequencing (WGS) dataset were analyzed. To overcome the interference from low-frequency nuclear mtDNA segments (NUMTs), a 10% variant frequency threshold was applied for the analysis. In total, 934 forensic-quality mitogenome haplotypes were characterized. Almost 45% of the SweGen haplotypes belonged to haplogroup H. Nearly all mitogenome haplotypes (99.1%) were assigned to European haplogroups, which was expected based on previous mtDNA studies of the Swedish population. There were signature northern Swedish and Finnish haplogroups observed in the dataset (e.g., U5b1, W1a), consistent with the nuclear DNA analyses of the SweGen data. The complete mitogenome analysis resulted in high haplotype diversity (0.9996) with a random match probability of 0.15%. Overall, the SweGen mitogenomes provide a large mtDNA reference dataset for the Swedish population and also contribute to the effort to estimate global mitogenome haplotype frequencies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kimberly Sturk-Andreaggi
- Department of Immunology Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 08 Uppsala, Sweden; (A.A.); (U.G.)
- Armed Forces Medical Examiner System’s Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFMES-AFDIL), Dover Air Force Base, DE 19902, USA (C.M.)
- SNA International, LLC, Alexandria, VI 22314, USA
| | - Martin Bodner
- Institute of Legal Medicine, Medical University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria; (M.B.); (W.P.)
| | - Joseph D. Ring
- Armed Forces Medical Examiner System’s Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFMES-AFDIL), Dover Air Force Base, DE 19902, USA (C.M.)
- SNA International, LLC, Alexandria, VI 22314, USA
| | - Adam Ameur
- Department of Immunology Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 08 Uppsala, Sweden; (A.A.); (U.G.)
| | - Ulf Gyllensten
- Department of Immunology Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 08 Uppsala, Sweden; (A.A.); (U.G.)
| | - Walther Parson
- Institute of Legal Medicine, Medical University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria; (M.B.); (W.P.)
- Forensic Science Program, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, State College, PA 16801, USA
| | - Charla Marshall
- Armed Forces Medical Examiner System’s Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFMES-AFDIL), Dover Air Force Base, DE 19902, USA (C.M.)
- Forensic Science Program, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, State College, PA 16801, USA
| | - Marie Allen
- Department of Immunology Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 08 Uppsala, Sweden; (A.A.); (U.G.)
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3
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Lee SE, Kim GE, Kim H, Chung DH, Lee SD, Kim MY. Comparison of Two Variant Analysis Programs for Next-Generation Sequencing Data of Whole Mitochondrial Genome. J Korean Med Sci 2023; 38:e297. [PMID: 37698211 PMCID: PMC10497357 DOI: 10.3346/jkms.2023.38.e297] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2023] [Accepted: 06/29/2023] [Indexed: 09/13/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND With advance of next-generation sequencing (NGS) techniques, the need for mitochondrial DNA analysis is increasing not only in the forensic area, but also in medical fields. METHODS Two commercial programs, Converge Software (CS) and Torrent Variant Caller for variant calling of NGS data, were compared with a considerable amount of sequence data of 50 samples with a homogeneous ethnicity. RESULTS About 2,300 variants were identified and the two programs showed about 90% of consistency. CS, a dedicated analysis program for mitochondrial DNA, showed some advantages for forensic use. By additional visual inspection, several causes of discrepancy in variant calling results were identified. Application of different notation rules for mitochondrial sequence and the minor allele frequency close to detection threshold were the two most significant reasons. CONCLUSION With prospective improvement of each program, researchers and practitioners should be aware of characteristics of the analysis program they use and prepare their own strategies to determine variants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seung Eun Lee
- Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Suwon, Korea
| | - Ga Eun Kim
- Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Suwon, Korea
| | - Hajin Kim
- Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Suwon, Korea
| | - Doo Hyun Chung
- Department of Pathology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
- Laboratory of Immune Regulation, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
| | - Soong Deok Lee
- Department of Forensic Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
- Institute of Forensic and Anthropological Science, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
| | - Moon-Young Kim
- Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Suwon, Korea.
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4
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Vinueza-Espinosa DC, Cuesta-Aguirre DR, Malgosa A, Santos C. Mitochondrial DNA control region typing from highly degraded skeletal remains by single-multiplex next-generation sequencing. Electrophoresis 2023; 44:1423-1434. [PMID: 37379235 DOI: 10.1002/elps.202200052] [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: 02/28/2022] [Revised: 03/29/2023] [Accepted: 06/08/2023] [Indexed: 06/30/2023]
Abstract
Poor nuclear DNA preservation from highly degraded skeletal remains is the most limiting factor for the genetic identification of individuals. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) typing, and especially of the control region (CR), using next-generation sequencing (NGS), enables retrieval of valuable genetic information in forensic contexts where highly degraded human skeletal remains are the only source of genetic material. Currently, NGS commercial kits can type all mtDNA-CR in fewer steps than the conventional Sanger technique. The PowerSeq CRM Nested System kit (Promega Corporation) employs a nested multiplex-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) strategy to amplify and index all mtDNA-CR in a single reaction. Our study analyzes the success of mtDNA-CR typing of highly degraded human skeletons using the PowerSeq CRM Nested System kit. We used samples from 41 individuals from different time periods to test three protocols (M1, M2, and M3) based on modifications of PCR conditions. To analyze the detected variants, two bioinformatic procedures were compared: an in-house pipeline and the GeneMarker HTS software. The results showed that many samples were not analyzed when the standard protocol (M1) was used. In contrast, the M3 protocol, which includes 35 PCR cycles and longer denaturation and extension steps, successfully recovered the mtDNA-CR from highly degraded skeletal samples. Mixed base profiles and the percentage of damaged reads were both indicators of possible contamination and can provide better results if used together. Furthermore, our freely available in-house pipeline can provide variants concordant with the forensic software.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diana C Vinueza-Espinosa
- Research Group in Biological Anthropology, Biological Anthropology Unit, Department of Animal Biology, Vegetal Biology and Ecology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain
| | - Daniel R Cuesta-Aguirre
- Research Group in Biological Anthropology, Biological Anthropology Unit, Department of Animal Biology, Vegetal Biology and Ecology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain
| | - Assumpció Malgosa
- Research Group in Biological Anthropology, Biological Anthropology Unit, Department of Animal Biology, Vegetal Biology and Ecology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain
| | - Cristina Santos
- Research Group in Biological Anthropology, Biological Anthropology Unit, Department of Animal Biology, Vegetal Biology and Ecology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain
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5
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Heinrich J, Berger C, Berger B, Hecht W, Phillips C, Parson W. The LASSIE MPS panel: Predicting externally visible traits in dogs for forensic purposes. Forensic Sci Int Genet 2023; 66:102893. [PMID: 37290253 DOI: 10.1016/j.fsigen.2023.102893] [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: 03/03/2023] [Revised: 05/28/2023] [Accepted: 06/01/2023] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Predicting the outward appearance of dogs via their DNA, also known as Canine DNA Phenotyping, is a young, emerging field of research in forensic genetics. The few previous studies published in this respect were restricted to the consecutive analysis of single DNA markers, a process that is time- and sample-consuming and therefore not a viable option for limited forensic specimens. Here, we report on the development and evaluation of a Massively Parallel Sequencing (MPS) based molecular genetic assay, the LASSIE MPS Panel. This panel aims to predict externally visible as well as skeletal traits, which include coat color, coat pattern, coat structure, tail morphology, skull shape, ear shape, eye color and body size from DNA using 44 genetic markers in a single molecular genetic assay. A biostatistical naïve Bayes classification approach was applied to identify the most informative marker combinations for predicting phenotypes. Overall, the predictive performance was characterized by a very high classification success for some of the trait categories, and high to moderate success for others. The performance of the developed predictive framework was further evaluated using blind samples from three randomly selected dog individuals, whose appearance was well predicted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Josephin Heinrich
- Institute of Legal Medicine, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Cordula Berger
- Institute of Legal Medicine, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Burkhard Berger
- Institute of Legal Medicine, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Werner Hecht
- Institute of Veterinary Pathology, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Christopher Phillips
- Forensic Genetics Unit, Institute of Forensic Sciences, University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Walther Parson
- Institute of Legal Medicine, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria; Forensic Science Program, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA.
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6
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Peng D, Geng J, Yang J, Liu J, Wang N, Wu R, Sun H. Whole Mitochondrial Genome Detection and Analysis of Two- to Four-Generation Maternal Pedigrees Using a New Massively Parallel Sequencing Panel. Genes (Basel) 2023; 14:genes14040912. [PMID: 37107670 PMCID: PMC10137955 DOI: 10.3390/genes14040912] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2023] [Revised: 04/08/2023] [Accepted: 04/12/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is an effective genetic marker in forensic practice, especially for aged bones and hair shafts. Detection of the whole mitochondrial genome (mtGenome) using traditional Sanger-type sequencing is laborious and time-consuming. Additionally, its ability to distinguish point heteroplasmy (PHP) and length heteroplasmy (LHP) is limited. The application of massively parallel sequencing in mtDNA detection helps researchers to study the mtGenome in-depth. The ForenSeq mtDNA Whole Genome Kit, which contains a total of 245 short amplicons, is one of the multiplex library preparation kits for the mtGenome. We used this system to detect the mtGenome in the blood samples and hair shafts of thirty-three individuals from eight two-generation pedigrees, one three-generation pedigree, and one four-generation pedigree. High-quality sequencing results were obtained. Ten unique mtGenome haplotypes were observed in the mothers from the ten pedigrees. A total of 26 PHPs were observed using the interpretation threshold of 6%. Eleven types of LHPs in six regions were evaluated in detail. When considering homoplasmic variants only, consistent mtGenome haplotypes were observed between the twice-sequenced libraries and between the blood and hair shafts from the same individual and among maternal relatives in the pedigrees. Four inherited PHPs were observed, and the remainder were de novo/disappearing PHPs in the pedigrees. Our results demonstrate the effective capability of the ForenSeq mtDNA Whole Genome Kit to generate the complete mtGenome in blood and hair shafts, as well as the complexity of mtDNA haplotype comparisons between different types of maternal relatives when heteroplasmy is considered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dan Peng
- Faculty of Forensic Medicine, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
- Guangdong Province Translational Forensic Medicine Engineering Technology Research Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
| | - Jiaojiao Geng
- Faculty of Forensic Medicine, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
- Guangdong Province Translational Forensic Medicine Engineering Technology Research Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
| | - Jingyi Yang
- Faculty of Forensic Medicine, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
- Guangdong Province Translational Forensic Medicine Engineering Technology Research Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
| | - Jiajun Liu
- Faculty of Forensic Medicine, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
- Guangdong Province Translational Forensic Medicine Engineering Technology Research Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
| | - Nana Wang
- Faculty of Forensic Medicine, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
- Guangdong Province Translational Forensic Medicine Engineering Technology Research Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
| | - Riga Wu
- Faculty of Forensic Medicine, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
- Guangdong Province Translational Forensic Medicine Engineering Technology Research Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
| | - Hongyu Sun
- Faculty of Forensic Medicine, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
- Guangdong Province Translational Forensic Medicine Engineering Technology Research Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
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7
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Liu Z, Simayijiang H, Wang Q, Yang J, Sun H, Wu R, Yan J. DNA and protein analyses of hair in forensic genetics. Int J Legal Med 2023; 137:613-633. [PMID: 36732435 DOI: 10.1007/s00414-023-02955-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2022] [Accepted: 01/20/2023] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Hair is one of the most common pieces of biological evidence found at a crime scene and plays an essential role in forensic investigation. Hairs, especially non-follicular hairs, are usually found at various crime scenes, either by natural shedding or by forcible shedding. However, the genetic material in hairs is usually highly degraded, which makes forensic analysis difficult. As a result, the value of hair has not been fully exploited in forensic investigations and trials. In recent years, with advances in molecular biology, forensic analysis of hair has achieved remarkable strides and provided crucial clues in numerous cases. This article reviews recent developments in DNA and protein analysis of hair and attempts to provide a comprehensive solution to improve forensic hair analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiyong Liu
- Faculty of Forensic Medicine, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510080, People's Republic of China
| | - Halimureti Simayijiang
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong, Shanxi, 030600, People's Republic of China
| | - Qiangwei Wang
- Faculty of Forensic Medicine, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510080, People's Republic of China
| | - Jingyi Yang
- Faculty of Forensic Medicine, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510080, People's Republic of China
| | - Hongyu Sun
- Faculty of Forensic Medicine, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510080, People's Republic of China.,Guangdong Province Translational Forensic Medicine Engineering Technology Research Center, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510080, People's Republic of China
| | - Riga Wu
- Faculty of Forensic Medicine, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510080, People's Republic of China. .,Guangdong Province Translational Forensic Medicine Engineering Technology Research Center, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510080, People's Republic of China.
| | - Jiangwei Yan
- School of Forensic Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong, Shanxi, 030600, People's Republic of China.
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8
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Kwon YL, Lee EY, Kim BM, Joo SM, Jeong KS, Chun BW, Lee YH, Park KW, Shin KJ. Application of a custom haplotype caller to analyze sequence-based data of 56 microhaplotypes. Forensic Sci Int Genet 2022; 61:102778. [PMID: 36166997 DOI: 10.1016/j.fsigen.2022.102778] [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: 03/30/2022] [Revised: 08/23/2022] [Accepted: 09/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Microhaplotypes (microhaps) are recently introduced markers that aim to complement the limitations of conventional forensic markers such as short tandem repeats (STRs) and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). With the potential of microhaps in forensics becoming clearer through massively parallel sequencing (MPS), MPS-based studies on microhaps are being actively reported. However, simpler workflow schemes for the generation and analysis of MPS data are still required to facilitate the practical application of MPS in forensics. In this study, we developed an in-house MPS panel that simultaneously amplifies 56 microhaps and a custom haplotype caller, Visual Microhap. The developed tool works on a web browser and provides four analysis options to extract SNP-based haplotypes from sequence-based data obtained by STRait Razor 3.0. To demonstrate the utility of the MPS panel and data analysis workflow scheme, we also analyzed 56 microhaps of 286 samples from four populations (African-American, Caucasian, Hispanic, and Korean). The average effective number of alleles (Ae) for the four groups was 3.45, ranging from 1.74 to 6.98. Forensic statistical parameters showed that this microhap panel is more powerful than conventional autosomal STRs for human identification. Meanwhile, the 56-plex panel mostly comprised microhaps with high Ae; however, the four populations were grossly distinguishable from each other by cluster analysis. Consequently, the developed in-house MPS panel for 56 microhaps and the adopted workflow using open-source tools can increase the utility of microhap MPS in forensic research and practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ye-Lim Kwon
- Department of Forensic Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea; Graduate School of Medical Science, Brain Korea 21 Project, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea.
| | - Eun Young Lee
- Department of Forensic Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea. -silver02-@hanmail.net
| | - Bo Min Kim
- Department of Forensic Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea; Graduate School of Medical Science, Brain Korea 21 Project, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea.
| | - Su Min Joo
- Department of Forensic Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea; Graduate School of Medical Science, Brain Korea 21 Project, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea.
| | - Kyu Sik Jeong
- Forensic DNA division, National Forensic Service, Wonju-si, Gangwon-do 26460, Republic of Korea.
| | - Byung Won Chun
- DNA analysis Division, National Forensic Service Daejeon Institute, Daejeon 34054, Republic of Korea.
| | - Yang Han Lee
- Forensic DNA division, National Forensic Service, Wonju-si, Gangwon-do 26460, Republic of Korea.
| | - Ki Won Park
- Forensic DNA division, National Forensic Service, Wonju-si, Gangwon-do 26460, Republic of Korea.
| | - Kyoung-Jin Shin
- Department of Forensic Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea; Graduate School of Medical Science, Brain Korea 21 Project, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea.
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9
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Dierig L, Bamberg M, Brommer A, Klein-Unseld R, Kunz SN, Schwender M, Wiegand P. Development of a multiplex assay for detection of autosomal and Y-chromosomal STRs, assessment of the degradation state of mitochondrial DNA and presence of mitochondrial length heteroplasmies. Forensic Sci Int Genet 2022; 61:102775. [PMID: 36137414 DOI: 10.1016/j.fsigen.2022.102775] [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: 08/05/2022] [Revised: 09/09/2022] [Accepted: 09/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
The current focus in most routine forensic casework is detection of autosomal or gonosomal Short Tandem Repeats (STRs). With increasing degradation, STR analysis tends to be less successful up to complete failure. For challenging samples such as telogen hair roots and shafts, touch DNA samples or skeletal remains, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis provides a powerful tool. Determination of DNA quantity is an important part in the casework workflow. Several ready-to-use kits are commercially available for nuclear DNA targets. However, quantification of mtDNA targets requires the establishment of an in-house method. Some assays even contain assessment of degradation, which alleviates the choice of target enrichment for sequencing through medium or small amplicons. As Sanger-type Sequencing (STS) still remains the golden standard in many laboratories, identification of heteroplasmies in C-tract regions prior to the sequencing reaction is advantageous. Firstly, primer selection can be expanded with primers binding near the C-tract and secondly, determination of the dominant variant is straightforward. All those quantity (nuclear and mtDNA) and quality (degradation and length heteroplasmies) evaluations usually require at least two separate reactions. Therefore, the aim of this project was the combination of all these targets in one multiplex assay using capillary electrophoresis to spare valuable sample extract. Amplification of representative autosomal and Y-chromosomal STRs allows estimate of success of (Y-)STR analysis. Simultaneously, five length heteroplasmies in the mitochondrial control region are targeted as well as three conservative regions of differing fragment lengths for assessment of the mitochondrial degradation state. Based on the outcome of this assay, forensic examiners can decide if STR analysis may be suitable. In case of absent STR peaks, appropriate proceeding of mtDNA sequencing can be determined.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa Dierig
- University Ulm, Institute of Legal Medicine, Albert-Einstein-Allee 23, Ulm 89081, Germany.
| | - Malte Bamberg
- University Ulm, Institute of Legal Medicine, Albert-Einstein-Allee 23, Ulm 89081, Germany
| | - Arthur Brommer
- Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich, Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1, München 80539, Germany
| | - Rachel Klein-Unseld
- University Ulm, Institute of Legal Medicine, Albert-Einstein-Allee 23, Ulm 89081, Germany
| | - Sebastian N Kunz
- University Ulm, Institute of Legal Medicine, Albert-Einstein-Allee 23, Ulm 89081, Germany
| | - Max Schwender
- University Ulm, Institute of Legal Medicine, Albert-Einstein-Allee 23, Ulm 89081, Germany
| | - Peter Wiegand
- University Ulm, Institute of Legal Medicine, Albert-Einstein-Allee 23, Ulm 89081, Germany
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10
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Gutierrez R, Roman MG, Harrel M, Hughes S, LaRue B, Houston R. Assessment of the ForenSeq mtDNA control region kit and comparison of orthogonal technologies. Forensic Sci Int Genet 2022; 59:102721. [DOI: 10.1016/j.fsigen.2022.102721] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2022] [Revised: 04/13/2022] [Accepted: 05/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
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11
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Battle SL, Puiu D, Verlouw J, Broer L, Boerwinkle E, Taylor KD, Rotter JI, Rich SS, Grove ML, Pankratz N, Fetterman JL, Liu C, Arking D. A bioinformatics pipeline for estimating mitochondrial DNA copy number and heteroplasmy levels from whole genome sequencing data. NAR Genom Bioinform 2022; 4:lqac034. [PMID: 35591888 PMCID: PMC9112767 DOI: 10.1093/nargab/lqac034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2021] [Revised: 03/16/2022] [Accepted: 04/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Mitochondrial diseases are a heterogeneous group of disorders that can be caused by mutations in the nuclear or mitochondrial genome. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variants may exist in a state of heteroplasmy, where a percentage of DNA molecules harbor a variant, or homoplasmy, where all DNA molecules have the same variant. The relative quantity of mtDNA in a cell, or copy number (mtDNA-CN), is associated with mitochondrial function, human disease, and mortality. To facilitate accurate identification of heteroplasmy and quantify mtDNA-CN, we built a bioinformatics pipeline that takes whole genome sequencing data and outputs mitochondrial variants, and mtDNA-CN. We incorporate variant annotations to facilitate determination of variant significance. Our pipeline yields uniform coverage by remapping to a circularized chrM and by recovering reads falsely mapped to nuclear-encoded mitochondrial sequences. Notably, we construct a consensus chrM sequence for each sample and recall heteroplasmy against the sample's unique mitochondrial genome. We observe an approximately 3-fold increased association with age for heteroplasmic variants in non-homopolymer regions and, are better able to capture genetic variation in the D-loop of chrM compared to existing software. Our bioinformatics pipeline more accurately captures features of mitochondrial genetics than existing pipelines that are important in understanding how mitochondrial dysfunction contributes to disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie L Battle
- McKusick-Nathans Institute, Department of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Daniela Puiu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | | | - Joost Verlouw
- Department of Internal Medicine, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Linda Broer
- Department of Internal Medicine, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Eric Boerwinkle
- Human Genetics Center, Department of Epidemiology, Human Genetics, and Environmental Sciences, School of Public Health, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA
- Human Genome Sequencing Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Kent D Taylor
- The Institute for Translational Genomics and Population Sciences, Department of Pediatrics, The Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, CA, USA
| | - Jerome I Rotter
- The Institute for Translational Genomics and Population Sciences, Department of Pediatrics, The Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, CA, USA
| | - Stephan S Rich
- Center for Public Health Genomics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - Megan L Grove
- Human Genetics Center, Department of Epidemiology, Human Genetics, and Environmental Sciences, School of Public Health, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Nathan Pankratz
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Jessica L Fetterman
- Evans Department of Medicine and the Whitaker Cardiovascular Institute, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Chunyu Liu
- Framingham Heart Study, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Dan E Arking
- McKusick-Nathans Institute, Department of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
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12
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McElhoe JA, Wilton PR, Parson W, Holland MM. Exploring statistical weight estimates for mitochondrial DNA matches involving heteroplasmy. Int J Legal Med 2022; 136:671-685. [PMID: 35243529 DOI: 10.1007/s00414-022-02774-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2021] [Accepted: 01/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Massively parallel sequencing (MPS) of mitochondrial (mt) DNA allows forensic laboratories to report heteroplasmy on a routine basis. Statistical approaches will be needed to determine the relative frequency of observing an mtDNA haplotype when including the presence of a heteroplasmic site. Here, we examined 1301 control region (CR) sequences, collected from individuals in four major population groups (European, African, Asian, and Latino), and covering 24 geographically distributed haplogroups, to assess the rates of point heteroplasmy (PHP) on an individual and nucleotide position (np) basis. With a minor allele frequency (MAF) threshold of 2%, the data was similar across population groups, with an overall PHP rate of 37.7%, and the majority of heteroplasmic individuals (77.3%) having only one site of heteroplasmy. The majority (75.2%) of identified PHPs had an MAF of 2-10%, and were observed at 12.6% of the nps across the CR. Both the broad and phylogenetic testing suggested that in many cases the low number of observations of heteroplasmy at any one np results in a lack of statistical association. The posterior frequency estimates, which skew conservative to a degree depending on the sample size in a given haplogroup, had a mean of 0.152 (SD 0.134) and ranged from 0.031 to 0.83. As expected, posterior frequency estimates decreased in accordance with 1/n as the sample size (n) increased. This provides a proposed conservative statistical framework for assessing haplotype/heteroplasmy matches when applying an MPS technique in forensic cases and will allow for continual refinement as more data is generated, both within the CR and across the mitochondrial genome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer A McElhoe
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Forensic Science Program, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, 014 Thomas Building, State College, PA, 16802, USA.
| | - Peter R Wilton
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
- 23andMe Inc, Sunnyvale, CA, 94086, USA
| | - Walther Parson
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Forensic Science Program, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, 014 Thomas Building, State College, PA, 16802, USA
- Institute of Legal Medicine, Medical University of Innsbruck, Müllerstraße 44, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Mitchell M Holland
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Forensic Science Program, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, 014 Thomas Building, State College, PA, 16802, USA
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13
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Sturk-Andreaggi K, Ring JD, Ameur A, Gyllensten U, Bodner M, Parson W, Marshall C, Allen M. The Value of Whole-Genome Sequencing for Mitochondrial DNA Population Studies: Strategies and Criteria for Extracting High-Quality Mitogenome Haplotypes. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23042244. [PMID: 35216360 PMCID: PMC8876724 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23042244] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2022] [Revised: 02/08/2022] [Accepted: 02/09/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data present a readily available resource for mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) haplotypes that can be utilized for genetics research including population studies. However, the reconstruction of the mitogenome is complicated by nuclear mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) segments (NUMTs) that co-align with the mtDNA sequences and mimic authentic heteroplasmy. Two minimum variant detection thresholds, 5% and 10%, were assessed for the ability to produce authentic mitogenome haplotypes from a previously generated WGS dataset. Variants associated with NUMTs were detected in the mtDNA alignments for 91 of 917 (~8%) Swedish samples when the 5% frequency threshold was applied. The 413 observed NUMT variants were predominantly detected in two regions (nps 12,612–13,105 and 16,390–16,527), which were consistent with previously documented NUMTs. The number of NUMT variants was reduced by ~97% (400) using a 10% frequency threshold. Furthermore, the 5% frequency data were inconsistent with a platinum-quality mitogenome dataset with respect to observed heteroplasmy. These analyses illustrate that a 10% variant detection threshold may be necessary to ensure the generation of reliable mitogenome haplotypes from WGS data resources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kimberly Sturk-Andreaggi
- Department of Immunology Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, Uppsala 751 08, Sweden; (A.A.); (U.G.)
- Armed Forces Medical Examiner System’s Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFMES-AFDIL), Dover Air Force Base, Dover, DE 19902, USA; (J.D.R.); (C.M.)
- SNA International, LLC, Alexandria, VA 22314, USA
- Correspondence: (K.S.-A.); (M.A.)
| | - Joseph D. Ring
- Armed Forces Medical Examiner System’s Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFMES-AFDIL), Dover Air Force Base, Dover, DE 19902, USA; (J.D.R.); (C.M.)
- SNA International, LLC, Alexandria, VA 22314, USA
| | - Adam Ameur
- Department of Immunology Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, Uppsala 751 08, Sweden; (A.A.); (U.G.)
| | - Ulf Gyllensten
- Department of Immunology Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, Uppsala 751 08, Sweden; (A.A.); (U.G.)
| | - Martin Bodner
- Institute of Legal Medicine, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck 6020, Austria; (M.B.); (W.P.)
| | - Walther Parson
- Institute of Legal Medicine, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck 6020, Austria; (M.B.); (W.P.)
- Forensic Science Program, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16801, USA
| | - Charla Marshall
- Armed Forces Medical Examiner System’s Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFMES-AFDIL), Dover Air Force Base, Dover, DE 19902, USA; (J.D.R.); (C.M.)
- SNA International, LLC, Alexandria, VA 22314, USA
- Forensic Science Program, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16801, USA
| | - Marie Allen
- Department of Immunology Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, Uppsala 751 08, Sweden; (A.A.); (U.G.)
- Correspondence: (K.S.-A.); (M.A.)
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14
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Zavala EI, Thomas JT, Sturk-Andreaggi K, Daniels-Higginbotham J, Meyers KK, Barrit-Ross S, Aximu-Petri A, Richter J, Nickel B, Berg GE, McMahon TP, Meyer M, Marshall C. Ancient DNA Methods Improve Forensic DNA Profiling of Korean War and World War II Unknowns. Genes (Basel) 2022; 13:genes13010129. [PMID: 35052469 PMCID: PMC8774965 DOI: 10.3390/genes13010129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2021] [Revised: 01/06/2022] [Accepted: 01/07/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The integration of massively parallel sequencing (MPS) technology into forensic casework has been of particular benefit to the identification of unknown military service members. However, highly degraded or chemically treated skeletal remains often fail to provide usable DNA profiles, even with sensitive mitochondrial (mt) DNA capture and MPS methods. In parallel, the ancient DNA field has developed workflows specifically for degraded DNA, resulting in the successful recovery of nuclear DNA and mtDNA from skeletal remains as well as sediment over 100,000 years old. In this study we use a set of disinterred skeletal remains from the Korean War and World War II to test if ancient DNA extraction and library preparation methods improve forensic DNA profiling. We identified an ancient DNA extraction protocol that resulted in the recovery of significantly more human mtDNA fragments than protocols previously used in casework. In addition, utilizing single-stranded rather than double-stranded library preparation resulted in increased attainment of reportable mtDNA profiles. This study emphasizes that the combination of ancient DNA extraction and library preparation methods evaluated here increases the success rate of DNA profiling, and likelihood of identifying historical remains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena I. Zavala
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; (A.A.-P.); (J.R.); (B.N.); (M.M.)
- Correspondence: (E.I.Z.); (C.M.)
| | - Jacqueline Tyler Thomas
- Armed Forces Medical Examiner System’s Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFMES-AFDIL), Dover Air Force Base, Dover, DE 19902, USA; (J.T.T.); (K.S.-A.); (J.D.-H.); (K.K.M.); (S.B.-R.); (T.P.M.)
- SNA International, Contractor Supporting the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System, Alexandria, VA 22314, USA
| | - Kimberly Sturk-Andreaggi
- Armed Forces Medical Examiner System’s Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFMES-AFDIL), Dover Air Force Base, Dover, DE 19902, USA; (J.T.T.); (K.S.-A.); (J.D.-H.); (K.K.M.); (S.B.-R.); (T.P.M.)
- SNA International, Contractor Supporting the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System, Alexandria, VA 22314, USA
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, SE-751 08 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Jennifer Daniels-Higginbotham
- Armed Forces Medical Examiner System’s Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFMES-AFDIL), Dover Air Force Base, Dover, DE 19902, USA; (J.T.T.); (K.S.-A.); (J.D.-H.); (K.K.M.); (S.B.-R.); (T.P.M.)
- SNA International, Contractor Supporting the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System, Alexandria, VA 22314, USA
| | - Kerriann K. Meyers
- Armed Forces Medical Examiner System’s Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFMES-AFDIL), Dover Air Force Base, Dover, DE 19902, USA; (J.T.T.); (K.S.-A.); (J.D.-H.); (K.K.M.); (S.B.-R.); (T.P.M.)
- SNA International, Contractor Supporting the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System, Alexandria, VA 22314, USA
| | - Suzanne Barrit-Ross
- Armed Forces Medical Examiner System’s Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFMES-AFDIL), Dover Air Force Base, Dover, DE 19902, USA; (J.T.T.); (K.S.-A.); (J.D.-H.); (K.K.M.); (S.B.-R.); (T.P.M.)
| | - Ayinuer Aximu-Petri
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; (A.A.-P.); (J.R.); (B.N.); (M.M.)
| | - Julia Richter
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; (A.A.-P.); (J.R.); (B.N.); (M.M.)
| | - Birgit Nickel
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; (A.A.-P.); (J.R.); (B.N.); (M.M.)
| | - Gregory E. Berg
- Defense Personnel Accounting Agency, Central Identification Laboratory, Hickam Air Force Base, Oahu, HI 96853, USA;
| | - Timothy P. McMahon
- Armed Forces Medical Examiner System’s Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFMES-AFDIL), Dover Air Force Base, Dover, DE 19902, USA; (J.T.T.); (K.S.-A.); (J.D.-H.); (K.K.M.); (S.B.-R.); (T.P.M.)
- SNA International, Contractor Supporting the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System, Alexandria, VA 22314, USA
| | - Matthias Meyer
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; (A.A.-P.); (J.R.); (B.N.); (M.M.)
| | - Charla Marshall
- Armed Forces Medical Examiner System’s Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFMES-AFDIL), Dover Air Force Base, Dover, DE 19902, USA; (J.T.T.); (K.S.-A.); (J.D.-H.); (K.K.M.); (S.B.-R.); (T.P.M.)
- SNA International, Contractor Supporting the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System, Alexandria, VA 22314, USA
- Forensic Science Program, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA 16802, USA
- Correspondence: (E.I.Z.); (C.M.)
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15
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Cortes-Figueiredo F, Carvalho FS, Fonseca AC, Paul F, Ferro JM, Schönherr S, Weissensteiner H, Morais VA. From Forensics to Clinical Research: Expanding the Variant Calling Pipeline for the Precision ID mtDNA Whole Genome Panel. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:12031. [PMID: 34769461 PMCID: PMC8584537 DOI: 10.3390/ijms222112031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2021] [Revised: 10/28/2021] [Accepted: 10/29/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite a multitude of methods for the sample preparation, sequencing, and data analysis of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), the demand for innovation remains, particularly in comparison with nuclear DNA (nDNA) research. The Applied Biosystems™ Precision ID mtDNA Whole Genome Panel (Thermo Fisher Scientific, USA) is an innovative library preparation kit suitable for degraded samples and low DNA input. However, its bioinformatic processing occurs in the enterprise Ion Torrent Suite™ Software (TSS), yielding BAM files aligned to an unorthodox version of the revised Cambridge Reference Sequence (rCRS), with a heteroplasmy threshold level of 10%. Here, we present an alternative customizable pipeline, the PrecisionCallerPipeline (PCP), for processing samples with the correct rCRS output after Ion Torrent sequencing with the Precision ID library kit. Using 18 samples (3 original samples and 15 mixtures) derived from the 1000 Genomes Project, we achieved overall improved performance metrics in comparison with the proprietary TSS, with optimal performance at a 2.5% heteroplasmy threshold. We further validated our findings with 50 samples from an ongoing independent cohort of stroke patients, with PCP finding 98.31% of TSS's variants (TSS found 57.92% of PCP's variants), with a significant correlation between the variant levels of variants found with both pipelines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Filipe Cortes-Figueiredo
- VMorais Lab—Mitochondria Biology & Neurodegeneration, Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, 1649-028 Lisbon, Portugal; (F.C.-F.); (F.S.C.)
- NeuroCure Clinical Research Center, Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany;
| | - Filipa S. Carvalho
- VMorais Lab—Mitochondria Biology & Neurodegeneration, Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, 1649-028 Lisbon, Portugal; (F.C.-F.); (F.S.C.)
| | - Ana Catarina Fonseca
- José Ferro Lab—Clinical Research in Non-communicable Neurological Diseases, Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, 1649-028 Lisbon, Portugal; (A.C.F.); (J.M.F.)
- Serviço de Neurologia, Hospital de Santa Maria, Centro Hospitalar Universitário Lisboa Norte, 1649-035 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Friedemann Paul
- NeuroCure Clinical Research Center, Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany;
- Experimental and Clinical Research Center, Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin and Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, 13125 Berlin, Germany
| | - José M. Ferro
- José Ferro Lab—Clinical Research in Non-communicable Neurological Diseases, Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, 1649-028 Lisbon, Portugal; (A.C.F.); (J.M.F.)
- Serviço de Neurologia, Hospital de Santa Maria, Centro Hospitalar Universitário Lisboa Norte, 1649-035 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Sebastian Schönherr
- Institute of Genetic Epidemiology, Department of Genetics and Pharmacology, Medical University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria;
| | - Hansi Weissensteiner
- Institute of Genetic Epidemiology, Department of Genetics and Pharmacology, Medical University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria;
| | - Vanessa A. Morais
- VMorais Lab—Mitochondria Biology & Neurodegeneration, Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, 1649-028 Lisbon, Portugal; (F.C.-F.); (F.S.C.)
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16
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Faccinetto C, Sabbatini D, Serventi P, Rigato M, Salvoro C, Casamassima G, Margiotta G, De Fanti S, Sarno S, Staiti N, Luiselli D, Marino A, Vazza G. Internal validation and improvement of mitochondrial genome sequencing using the Precision ID mtDNA Whole Genome Panel. Int J Legal Med 2021; 135:2295-2306. [PMID: 34491421 PMCID: PMC8523450 DOI: 10.1007/s00414-021-02686-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2021] [Accepted: 08/13/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
With the recent advances in next-generation sequencing (NGS), mitochondrial whole-genome sequencing has begun to be applied to the field of the forensic biology as an alternative to the traditional Sanger-type sequencing (STS). However, experimental workflows, commercial solutions, and output data analysis must be strictly validated before being implemented into the forensic laboratory. In this study, we performed an internal validation for an NGS-based typing of the entire mitochondrial genome using the Precision ID mtDNA Whole Genome Panel (Thermo Fisher Scientific) on the Ion S5 sequencer (Thermo Fisher Scientific). Concordance, repeatability, reproducibility, sensitivity, and heteroplasmy detection analyses were assessed using the 2800 M and 9947A standard control DNA as well as typical casework specimens, and results were compared with conventional Sanger sequencing and another NGS sequencer in a different laboratory. We discuss the strengths and limitations of this approach, highlighting some issues regarding noise thresholds and heteroplasmy detection, and suggesting solutions to mitigate these effects and improve overall data interpretation. Results confirmed that the Precision ID Whole mtDNA Genome Panel is highly reproducible and sensitive, yielding useful full mitochondrial DNA sequences also from challenging DNA specimens, thus providing further support for its use in forensic practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Faccinetto
- Reparto Carabinieri Investigazioni Scientifiche Di Parma, Sezione Biologia, Parma, Italy.
| | - Daniele Sabbatini
- Department of Neurosciences DNS, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Patrizia Serventi
- Reparto Carabinieri Investigazioni Scientifiche Di Parma, Sezione Biologia, Parma, Italy
| | - Martina Rigato
- Department of Biology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | | | - Gianluca Casamassima
- Reparto Carabinieri Investigazioni Scientifiche Di Parma, Sezione Biologia, Parma, Italy
| | - Gianluca Margiotta
- Reparto Carabinieri Investigazioni Scientifiche Di Parma, Sezione Biologia, Parma, Italy
| | - Sara De Fanti
- Department of Biological Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.,Interdepartmental Centre Alma Mater Research Institute On Global Challenges and Climate Change (Alma Climate), University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Stefania Sarno
- Department of Biological Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Nicola Staiti
- Reparto Carabinieri Investigazioni Scientifiche Di Parma, Sezione Biologia, Parma, Italy
| | - Donata Luiselli
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Ravenna, Italy
| | - Alberto Marino
- Reparto Carabinieri Investigazioni Scientifiche Di Parma, Sezione Biologia, Parma, Italy
| | - Giovanni Vazza
- Department of Biology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.
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17
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Marshall C, Parson W. Interpreting NUMTs in forensic genetics: Seeing the forest for the trees. Forensic Sci Int Genet 2021; 53:102497. [PMID: 33740708 DOI: 10.1016/j.fsigen.2021.102497] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2021] [Revised: 03/10/2021] [Accepted: 03/11/2021] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Nuclear mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) segments (NUMTs) were discovered shortly after sequencing the first human mitochondrial genome. They have earlier been considered to represent archaic elements of ancient insertion events, but modern sequencing technologies and growing databases of mtDNA and NUMT sequences confirm that they are abundant and some of them phylogenetically young. Here, we build upon mtDNA/NUMT review articles published in the mid 2010 s and focus on the distinction of NUMTs and other artefacts that can be observed in aligned sequence reads, such as mixtures (contamination), point heteroplasmy, sequencing error and cytosine deamination. We show practical examples of the effect of the mtDNA enrichment method on the representation of NUMTs in the mapped sequence data and discuss methods to bioinformatically filter NUMTs from mtDNA reads.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charla Marshall
- Armed Forces Medical Examiner System's Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFMES-AFDIL), Dover Air Force Base, DE 19902, USA; SNA International, Contractor Supporting the AFMES-AFDIL, Alexandria, VA 22314, USA; Forensic Science Program, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Walther Parson
- Forensic Science Program, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA; Institute of Legal Medicine, Medical University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria.
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18
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King JL, Woerner AE, Mandape SN, Kapema KB, Moura-Neto RS, Silva R, Budowle B. STRait Razor Online: An enhanced user interface to facilitate interpretation of MPS data. Forensic Sci Int Genet 2021; 52:102463. [PMID: 33493821 DOI: 10.1016/j.fsigen.2021.102463] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2020] [Revised: 11/06/2020] [Accepted: 12/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Since 2013, STRait Razor has enabled analysis of massively parallel sequencing (MPS) data from various marker systems such as short tandem repeats, single nucleotide polymorphisms, insertion/deletions, and mitochondrial DNA. In this paper, STRait Razor Online (SRO), available at https://www.unthsc.edu/straitrazor, is introduced as an interactive, Shiny-based user interface for primary analysis of MPS data and secondary analysis of STRait Razor haplotype pileups. This software can be accessed from any common browser via desktop, tablet, or smartphone device. SRO is available also as a standalone application and open-source R script available at https://github.com/ExpectationsManaged/STRaitRazorOnline. The local application is capable of batch processing of both fastq files and primary analysis output. Processed batches generate individual report folders and summary reports at the locus- and haplotype-level in a matter of minutes. For example, the processing of data from ∼700 samples generated with the ForenSeq Signature Preparation Kit from allsequences.txt to a final table can be performed in ∼40 min whereas the Excel-based workbooks can take 35-60 h to compile a subset of the tables generated by SRO. To facilitate analysis of single-source, reference samples, a preliminary triaging system was implemented that calls potential alleles and flags loci suspected of severe heterozygote imbalance. When compared to published, manually curated data sets, 98.72 % of software-assigned allele calls without manual interpretation were consistent with curated data sets, 0.99 % loci were presented to the user for interpretation due to heterozygote imbalance, and the remaining 0.29 % of loci were inconsistent due to the analytical thresholds used across the studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan L King
- Center for Human Identification, University of North Texas Health Science Center, 3500 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth, TX, 76107, USA.
| | - August E Woerner
- Center for Human Identification, University of North Texas Health Science Center, 3500 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth, TX, 76107, USA; Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Genetics, University of North Texas Health Science Center, 3500 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth, TX, 76107, USA
| | - Sammed N Mandape
- Center for Human Identification, University of North Texas Health Science Center, 3500 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth, TX, 76107, USA
| | - Kapema Bupe Kapema
- Center for Human Identification, University of North Texas Health Science Center, 3500 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth, TX, 76107, USA
| | | | - Rosane Silva
- Instituto de Biofisica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
| | - Bruce Budowle
- Center for Human Identification, University of North Texas Health Science Center, 3500 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth, TX, 76107, USA; Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Genetics, University of North Texas Health Science Center, 3500 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth, TX, 76107, USA
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19
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Grabell S, Shomron N. DNA Data Collection and Analysis in the Forensic Arena. Methods Mol Biol 2021; 2243:355-368. [PMID: 33606268 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-1103-6_19] [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] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Recent scientific advancements in the field of genetics have fostered significant changes for the criminal justice system. Growing National DNA databases, public DNA databases, private direct-to-consumer (DTC) DNA testing companies, and improvements in next-generation sequencing (NGS) have resulted in effective methods for tracking down criminals and exonerating the innocent. While these recently discovered and profound techniques seem to provide benefits, their use in forensic detection has become subject to harsh legal opposition. Ultimately, should law enforcement be permitted to analyze DNA found at crime scenes and DNA that has accumulated in national, public, and private databases to aid in their investigations, or are individuals' privacy rights breached in the process?
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Affiliation(s)
- Sydnie Grabell
- Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Noam Shomron
- Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
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20
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Cihlar JC, Amory C, Lagacé R, Roth C, Parson W, Budowle B. Developmental Validation of a MPS Workflow with a PCR-Based Short Amplicon Whole Mitochondrial Genome Panel. Genes (Basel) 2020; 11:E1345. [PMID: 33202822 PMCID: PMC7709034 DOI: 10.3390/genes11111345] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2020] [Revised: 10/21/2020] [Accepted: 11/10/2020] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
For the adoption of massively parallel sequencing (MPS) systems by forensic laboratories, validation studies on specific workflows are needed to support the feasibility of implementation and the reliability of the data they produce. As such, the whole mitochondrial genome sequencing methodology-Precision ID mtDNA Whole Genome Panel, Ion Chef, Ion S5, and Converge-has been subjected to a variety of developmental validation studies. These validation studies were completed in accordance with the Scientific Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods (SWGDAM) validation guidelines and assessed reproducibility, repeatability, accuracy, sensitivity, specificity to human DNA, and ability to analyze challenging (e.g., mixed, degraded, or low quantity) samples. Intra- and inter-run replicates produced an average maximum pairwise difference in variant frequency of 1.2%. Concordance with data generated with traditional Sanger sequencing and an orthogonal MPS platform methodology was used to assess accuracy, and generation of complete and concordant haplotypes at DNA input levels as low as 37.5 pg of nuclear DNA or 187.5 mitochondrial genome copies illustrated the sensitivity of the system. Overall, data presented herein demonstrate that highly accurate and reproducible results were generated for a variety of sample qualities and quantities, supporting the reliability of this specific whole genome mitochondrial DNA MPS system for analysis of forensic biological evidence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Churchill Cihlar
- Center for Human Identification, University of North Texas Health Science Center, 3500 Camp Bowie Boulevard, Fort Worth, TX 76107, USA;
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Genetics, University of North Texas Health Science Center, 3500 Camp Bowie Boulevard, Fort Worth, TX 76107, USA
| | - Christina Amory
- Institute of Legal Medicine, Medical University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria; (C.A.); (W.P.)
| | - Robert Lagacé
- Human Identification Group, Thermo Fisher Scientific, South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA; (R.L.); (C.R.)
| | - Chantal Roth
- Human Identification Group, Thermo Fisher Scientific, South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA; (R.L.); (C.R.)
| | - Walther Parson
- Institute of Legal Medicine, Medical University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria; (C.A.); (W.P.)
- Forensic Science Program, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Bruce Budowle
- Center for Human Identification, University of North Texas Health Science Center, 3500 Camp Bowie Boulevard, Fort Worth, TX 76107, USA;
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Genetics, University of North Texas Health Science Center, 3500 Camp Bowie Boulevard, Fort Worth, TX 76107, USA
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21
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Taylor CR, Kiesler KM, Sturk-Andreaggi K, Ring JD, Parson W, Schanfield M, Vallone PM, Marshall C. Platinum-Quality Mitogenome Haplotypes from United States Populations. Genes (Basel) 2020; 11:genes11111290. [PMID: 33138247 PMCID: PMC7716222 DOI: 10.3390/genes11111290] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2020] [Revised: 10/26/2020] [Accepted: 10/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
A total of 1327 platinum-quality mitochondrial DNA haplotypes from United States (U.S.) populations were generated using a robust, semi-automated next-generation sequencing (NGS) workflow with rigorous quality control (QC). The laboratory workflow involved long-range PCR to minimize the co-amplification of nuclear mitochondrial DNA segments (NUMTs), PCR-free library preparation to reduce amplification bias, and high-coverage Illumina MiSeq sequencing to produce an average per-sample read depth of 1000 × for low-frequency (5%) variant detection. Point heteroplasmies below 10% frequency were confirmed through replicate amplification, and length heteroplasmy was quantitatively assessed using a custom read count analysis tool. Data analysis involved a redundant, dual-analyst review to minimize errors in haplotype reporting with additional QC checks performed by EMPOP. Applying these methods, eight sample sets were processed from five U.S. metapopulations (African American, Caucasian, Hispanic, Asian American, and Native American) corresponding to self-reported identity at the time of sample collection. Population analyses (e.g., haplotype frequencies, random match probabilities, and genetic distance estimates) were performed to evaluate the eight datasets, with over 95% of haplotypes unique per dataset. The platinum-quality mitogenome haplotypes presented in this study will enable forensic statistical calculations and thereby support the usage of mitogenome sequencing in forensic laboratories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cassandra R. Taylor
- Armed Forces Medical Examiner System’s Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFMES-AFDIL), Dover Air Force Base, DE 19002, USA; (C.R.T.); (K.S.-A.); (J.D.R.)
- SNA International, LLC; Alexandria, VA 22314, USA
| | - Kevin M. Kiesler
- National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg, MD 20899, USA; (K.M.K.); (P.M.V.)
| | - Kimberly Sturk-Andreaggi
- Armed Forces Medical Examiner System’s Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFMES-AFDIL), Dover Air Force Base, DE 19002, USA; (C.R.T.); (K.S.-A.); (J.D.R.)
- SNA International, LLC; Alexandria, VA 22314, USA
| | - Joseph D. Ring
- Armed Forces Medical Examiner System’s Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFMES-AFDIL), Dover Air Force Base, DE 19002, USA; (C.R.T.); (K.S.-A.); (J.D.R.)
- SNA International, LLC; Alexandria, VA 22314, USA
| | - Walther Parson
- Institute of Legal Medicine, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck 6020, Austria;
- Forensic Science Program, The Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA 16801, USA
| | - Moses Schanfield
- Department of Forensic Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20007, USA;
| | - Peter M. Vallone
- National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg, MD 20899, USA; (K.M.K.); (P.M.V.)
| | - Charla Marshall
- Armed Forces Medical Examiner System’s Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFMES-AFDIL), Dover Air Force Base, DE 19002, USA; (C.R.T.); (K.S.-A.); (J.D.R.)
- SNA International, LLC; Alexandria, VA 22314, USA
- Forensic Science Program, The Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA 16801, USA
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +1-302-346-8519
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Cihlar JC, Peters D, Strobl C, Parson W, Budowle B. The lot-to-lot variability in the mitochondrial genome of controls. Forensic Sci Int Genet 2020; 47:102298. [PMID: 32464353 DOI: 10.1016/j.fsigen.2020.102298] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2020] [Revised: 04/01/2020] [Accepted: 04/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Current research in the biomedical field has illustrated how cell lines used as reference standards can change over time and, more importantly, can affect research and diagnostic results obtained from these cell lines. With the use of increasingly sensitive and highly resolving technologies (e.g., massively parallel sequencing), forensic scientists must be aware of and account for potential variability in the cell lines used as controls in their validation studies and day-to-day casework. In this study, multiple lot numbers from four commonly-used control cell line DNAs were sequenced with massively parallel sequencing on the Ion S5. The variability among these different lots was evaluated, and the effect on forensic laboratory work discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Churchill Cihlar
- Center for Human Identification, University of North Texas Health Science Center, 3500 Camp Bowie Boulevard, Fort Worth, TX 76107, USA; Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Genetics, University of North Texas Health Science Center, 3500 Camp Bowie Boulevard, Fort Worth, TX 76107, USA.
| | - Dixie Peters
- Center for Human Identification, University of North Texas Health Science Center, 3500 Camp Bowie Boulevard, Fort Worth, TX 76107, USA
| | - Christina Strobl
- Institute of Legal Medicine, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Walther Parson
- Institute of Legal Medicine, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria; Forensic Science Program, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Bruce Budowle
- Center for Human Identification, University of North Texas Health Science Center, 3500 Camp Bowie Boulevard, Fort Worth, TX 76107, USA; Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Genetics, University of North Texas Health Science Center, 3500 Camp Bowie Boulevard, Fort Worth, TX 76107, USA
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