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Harutyunyan T. The known unknowns of mitochondrial carcinogenesis: de novo NUMTs and intercellular mitochondrial transfer. Mutagenesis 2024; 39:1-12. [PMID: 37804235 DOI: 10.1093/mutage/gead031] [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: 07/20/2023] [Accepted: 10/05/2023] [Indexed: 10/09/2023] Open
Abstract
The translocation of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences into the nuclear genome, resulted in the occurrence of nuclear sequences of mitochondrial origin (NUMTs) which can be detected in nearly all sequenced eukaryotes. However, de novo mtDNA insertions can contribute to the development of pathological conditions including cancer. Recent data indicate that de novo mtDNA translocation into chromosomes can occur due to genotoxic influence of DNA double-strand break-inducing environmental mutagens. This confirms the hypothesis of the involvement of genome instability in the occurrence of mtDNA fragments in chromosomes. Mounting evidence indicates that mitochondria can be transferred from normal cells to cancer cells and recover cellular respiration. These exchanged mitochondria can facilitate cancer progression and metastasis. This review article provides a comprehensive overview of the potential carcinogenicity of mtDNA insertions, and the relevance of mtDNA escape in cancer progression, metastasis, and treatment resistance in humans. Potential molecular targets involved in mtDNA escape and exchange of mitochondria that can be of possible clinical benefits are presented and discussed. Understanding these processes could lead to improved diagnostic approaches, novel therapeutic strategies, and a deeper understanding of the intricate relationship between mitochondria, nuclear DNA, and cancer biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tigran Harutyunyan
- Department of Genetics and Cytology, Yerevan State University, 1 Alex Manoogian, 0025 Yerevan, Armenia
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2
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Tao Y, He C, Lin D, Gu Z, Pu W. Comprehensive Identification of Mitochondrial Pseudogenes (NUMTs) in the Human Telomere-to-Telomere Reference Genome. Genes (Basel) 2023; 14:2092. [PMID: 38003036 PMCID: PMC10671835 DOI: 10.3390/genes14112092] [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: 09/28/2023] [Revised: 11/09/2023] [Accepted: 11/12/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Practices related to mitochondrial research have long been hindered by the presence of mitochondrial pseudogenes within the nuclear genome (NUMTs). Even though partially assembled human reference genomes like hg38 have included NUMTs compilation, the exhaustive NUMTs within the only complete reference genome (T2T-CHR13) remain unknown. Here, we comprehensively identified the fixed NUMTs within the reference genome using human pan-mitogenome (HPMT) from GeneBank. The inclusion of HPMT serves the purpose of establishing an authentic mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutational spectrum for the identification of NUMTs, distinguishing it from the polymorphic variations found in NUMTs. Using HPMT, we identified approximately 10% of additional NUMTs in three human reference genomes under stricter thresholds. And we also observed an approximate 6% increase in NUMTs in T2T-CHR13 compared to hg38, including NUMTs on the short arms of chromosomes 13, 14, and 15 that were not assembled previously. Furthermore, alignments based on 20-mer from mtDNA suggested the presence of more mtDNA-like short segments within the nuclear genome, which should be avoided for short amplicon or cell free mtDNA detection. Finally, through the assay of transposase-accessible chromatin with high-throughput sequencing (ATAC-seq) on cell lines before and after mtDNA elimination, we concluded that NUMTs have a minimal impact on bulk ATAC-seq, even though 16% of sequencing data originated from mtDNA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yichen Tao
- MOE Key Laboratory of Contemporary Anthropology, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China; (Y.T.); (D.L.)
| | - Chengpeng He
- Greater Bay Area Institute of Precision Medicine (Guangzhou), Fudan University, Nansha District, Guangzhou 511458, China;
| | - Deng Lin
- MOE Key Laboratory of Contemporary Anthropology, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China; (Y.T.); (D.L.)
| | - Zhenglong Gu
- MOE Key Laboratory of Contemporary Anthropology, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China; (Y.T.); (D.L.)
- Greater Bay Area Institute of Precision Medicine (Guangzhou), Fudan University, Nansha District, Guangzhou 511458, China;
| | - Weilin Pu
- Greater Bay Area Institute of Precision Medicine (Guangzhou), Fudan University, Nansha District, Guangzhou 511458, China;
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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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Namasivayam S, Sun C, Bah AB, Oberstaller J, Pierre-Louis E, Etheridge RD, Feschotte C, Pritham EJ, Kissinger JC. Massive invasion of organellar DNA drives nuclear genome evolution in Toxoplasma. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.05.22.539837. [PMID: 37293002 PMCID: PMC10245829 DOI: 10.1101/2023.05.22.539837] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Toxoplasma gondii is a zoonotic protist pathogen that infects up to 1/3 of the human population. This apicomplexan parasite contains three genome sequences: nuclear (63 Mb); plastid organellar, ptDNA (35 kb); and mitochondrial organellar, mtDNA (5.9 kb of non-repetitive sequence). We find that the nuclear genome contains a significant amount of NUMTs (nuclear DNA of mitochondrial origin) and NUPTs (nuclear DNA of plastid origin) that are continuously acquired and represent a significant source of intraspecific genetic variation. NUOT (nuclear DNA of organellar origin) accretion has generated 1.6% of the extant T. gondii ME49 nuclear genome; the highest fraction ever reported in any organism. NUOTs are primarily found in organisms that retain the non-homologous end-joining repair pathway. Significant movement of organellar DNA was experimentally captured via amplicon sequencing of a CRISPR-induced double-strand break in non-homologous end-joining repair competent, but not ku80 mutant, Toxoplasma parasites. Comparisons with Neospora caninum, a species that diverged from Toxoplasma ~28 MY ago, revealed that the movement and fixation of 5 NUMTs predates the split of the two genera. This unexpected level of NUMT conservation suggests evolutionary constraint for cellular function. Most NUMT insertions reside within (60%) or nearby genes (23% within 1.5 kb) and reporter assays indicate that some NUMTs have the ability to function as cis-regulatory elements modulating gene expression. Together these findings portray a role for organellar sequence insertion in dynamically shaping the genomic architecture and likely contributing to adaptation and phenotypic changes in this important human pathogen.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sivaranjani Namasivayam
- Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA; Present address: Clinical Microbiome Unit, Laboratory of Host Immunity and Microbiome, NIAID, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Cheng Sun
- Department of Biology, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76019, USA; Present address: College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, Beijing 100048, China
| | - Assiatu B Bah
- Department of Biology, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76019
| | - Jenna Oberstaller
- Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA; Present address: Department of Global Health, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620, USA
| | - Edwin Pierre-Louis
- Department of Cellular Biology, Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Ronald Drew Etheridge
- Department of Cellular Biology, Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Cedric Feschotte
- Department of Biology, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76019; Present address: Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853-2703, USA
| | - Ellen J. Pritham
- Department of Biology, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76019
| | - Jessica C. Kissinger
- Department of Genetics, Institute of Bioinformatics, and Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
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Liu H, Wang D, Zhang C, Pu T, Xiong L, Wei F, Hu Y. Development of short-target primers for species identification in biological studies of Carnivora. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e10135. [PMID: 37250442 PMCID: PMC10212699 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2023] [Revised: 04/27/2023] [Accepted: 05/12/2023] [Indexed: 05/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Noninvasive genetic sampling greatly facilitates studies on the genetics, ecology, and conservation of threatened species. Species identification is often a prerequisite for noninvasive sampling-based biological studies. Due to the low quantity and quality of genomic DNA from noninvasive samples, high-performance short-target PCR primers are necessary for DNA barcoding applications. The order Carnivora is characterized by an elusive habit and threatened status. In this study, we developed three pairs of short-target primers for identifying Carnivora species. The COI279 primer pair was suitable for samples with better DNA quality. The COI157a and COI157b primer pairs performed well for noninvasive samples and reduced the interference of nuclear mitochondrial pseudogenes (numts). COI157a could effectively identify samples from Felidae, Canidae, Viverridae, and Hyaenidae, while COI157b could be applied to samples from Ursidae, Ailuridae, Mustelidae, Procyonidae, and Herpestidae. These short-target primers will facilitate noninvasive biological studies and efforts to conserve Carnivora species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huiwen Liu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation BiologyInstitute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- University of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Dan Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation BiologyInstitute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- University of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | | | | | - Lijuan Xiong
- School of Life SciencesGuizhou Normal UniversityGuiyangChina
| | - Fuwen Wei
- CAS Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation BiologyInstitute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- University of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Yibo Hu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation BiologyInstitute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- University of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
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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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Abstract
This review paper covers the forensic-relevant literature in biological sciences from 2019 to 2022 as a part of the 20th INTERPOL International Forensic Science Managers Symposium. Topics reviewed include rapid DNA testing, using law enforcement DNA databases plus investigative genetic genealogy DNA databases along with privacy/ethical issues, forensic biology and body fluid identification, DNA extraction and typing methods, mixture interpretation involving probabilistic genotyping software (PGS), DNA transfer and activity-level evaluations, next-generation sequencing (NGS), DNA phenotyping, lineage markers (Y-chromosome, mitochondrial DNA, X-chromosome), new markers and approaches (microhaplotypes, proteomics, and microbial DNA), kinship analysis and human identification with disaster victim identification (DVI), and non-human DNA testing including wildlife forensics. Available books and review articles are summarized as well as 70 guidance documents to assist in quality control that were published in the past three years by various groups within the United States and around the world.
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8
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Post hoc deconvolution of human mitochondrial DNA mixtures by EMMA 2 using fine-tuned Phylotree nomenclature. Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2022; 20:3630-3638. [PMID: 35860401 PMCID: PMC9283771 DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2022.06.053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2022] [Revised: 06/24/2022] [Accepted: 06/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
MtDNA mixtures are observed frequently and difficult to deconvolute. Most previous methods require raw data or quantitative information. EMMA 2 produces valid splittings from consensus sequences of any sequencing technology. EMMA 2 can deconvolute 2 and 3 person mixtures in a fast and traceable way.
In this paper we present a new algorithm for splitting (partial) human mitogenomes into components with high similarity to haplogroup motifs of Phylotree. The algorithm reads a (partial) mitogenome coded by the differences to the reference (rCRS) and outputs the estimated haplogroups of the putative components. The algorithm requires no special information on the raw data of the sequencing process and is therefore suited for the post hoc analysis of mixtures of any sequencing technology. The software EMMA 2 implementing the algorithm will be made available via the EMPOP (https://empop.online) database and extends the nine years old software EMMA for haplogrouping single mitogenomes to mixtures with at most three components.
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Fujii K, Mita Y, Watahiki H, Fukagawa T, Kitayama T, Mizuno N, Nakahara H, Sekiguchi K. Poly_NumtS_430 or HSA_NumtS_587 observed in massively parallel sequencing of the mitochondrial HV1 and HV2 regions. Forensic Sci Int Genet 2022; 59:102717. [DOI: 10.1016/j.fsigen.2022.102717] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2021] [Revised: 03/12/2022] [Accepted: 05/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
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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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Avila E, Speransa PA, Lindholz CG, Kahmann A, Alho CS. Haplotype distribution in a forensic full mtDNA genome database of admixed Southern Brazilians and its association with self-declared ancestry and pigmentation traits. Forensic Sci Int Genet 2021; 57:102650. [PMID: 34972071 DOI: 10.1016/j.fsigen.2021.102650] [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: 10/22/2021] [Accepted: 12/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The advent of massively parallel sequencing (MPS) applications focused on the generation of forensic-quality full mitochondrial genome sequences led to a popularization of the technique on a global scale. However, the lack of forensic-graded population databases has refrained a wider adoption of full genome sequences as the industry standard, despite its better discrimination capacity of individual maternal lineages. PURPOSE This work describes a forensic-oriented full mtDNA genome database comprised of 480 samples from a Southern Brazilian population. METHODS A collection of mitochondrial sequences were obtained from low-pass, full genome DNA sequencing results. The complete sample set was evaluated regarding haplotype composition and distribution. Summary statistics and forensic parameters were calculated and are presented for the database, with detailed information concerning the impact of removing genetic information in the form of specific variants or increasingly larger genomic regions. Interpopulational analysis comparing haplotypical diversity in Brazilian and 26 worldwide populations was also performed. The association between mitochondrial genetic variability and phenotypic diversity was also evaluated in populations, with self-declared ancestry and three distinct phenotypic pigmentation traits (eyes, skin and hair colors) as parameters. RESULTS The presented database can be used to evaluate mitochondrial-related genetic evidence, providing LR values of up to 20,465 for unobserved haplotypes. Haplotype distribution in Southern Brazil seems to be different than the remaining of the country, with a larger contribution of maternal lines with European origin. Despite association can be found between lighter and darker phenotypes or self-declared ancestry and haplotype distribution, prediction models cannot be reliably proposed due to the admixed nature of the Brazilian population. CONCLUSIONS The proposed database provides a basis for statistical calculation and frequency estimation of full mitochondrial genomes, and can be part of an integrated, representative, national database comprising most of the genetic diversity of maternal lineages in the country.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eduardo Avila
- Forensic Genetics Laboratory, School of Health and Life Sciences, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil; Technical Scientific Section, Federal Police Department in Rio Grande do Sul State, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil; National Institute of Science and Technology - Forensic Science, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
| | - Pietro Augusto Speransa
- Forensic Genetics Laboratory, School of Health and Life Sciences, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
| | - Catieli Gobetti Lindholz
- Forensic Genetics Laboratory, School of Health and Life Sciences, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
| | - Alessandro Kahmann
- National Institute of Science and Technology - Forensic Science, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil; Institute of Mathematics, Statistics and Physics, Federal University of Rio Grande, Rio Grande, RS, Brazil.
| | - Clarice Sampaio Alho
- Forensic Genetics Laboratory, School of Health and Life Sciences, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil; National Institute of Science and Technology - Forensic Science, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
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12
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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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13
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Mandape SN, Smart U, King JL, Muenzler M, Kapema KB, Budowle B, Woerner AE. MMDIT: A tool for the deconvolution and interpretation of mitochondrial DNA mixtures. Forensic Sci Int Genet 2021; 55:102568. [PMID: 34416654 DOI: 10.1016/j.fsigen.2021.102568] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2021] [Revised: 06/22/2021] [Accepted: 08/03/2021] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Short tandem repeats of the nuclear genome have been the preferred markers for analyzing forensic DNA mixtures. However, when nuclear DNA in a sample is degraded or limited, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) markers provide a powerful alternative. Though historically considered challenging, the interpretation and analysis of mtDNA mixtures have recently seen renewed interest with the advent of massively parallel sequencing. However, there are only a few software tools available for mtDNA mixture interpretation. To address this gap, the Mitochondrial Mixture Deconvolution and Interpretation Tool (MMDIT) was developed. MMDIT is an interactive application complete with a graphical user interface that allows users to deconvolve mtDNA (whole or partial genomes) mixtures into constituent donor haplotypes and estimate random match probabilities on these resultant haplotypes. In cases where deconvolution might not be feasible, the software allows mixture analysis directly within a binary framework (i.e. qualitatively, only using data on allele presence/absence). This paper explains the functionality of MMDIT, using an example of an in vitro two-person mtDNA mixture with a ratio of 1:4. The uniqueness of MMDIT lies in its ability to resolve mixtures into complete donor haplotypes using a statistical phasing framework before mixture analysis and evaluating statistical weights employing a novel graph algorithm approach. MMDIT is the first available open-source software that can automate mtDNA mixture deconvolution and analysis. The MMDIT web application can be accessed online at https://www.unthsc.edu/mmdit/. The source code is available at https://github.com/SammedMandape/MMDIT_UI and archived on zenodo (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4770184).
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Affiliation(s)
- Sammed N Mandape
- Center for Human Identification, University of North Texas Health Science Center, 3500 Camp, Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth, TX 76107, USA
| | - Utpal Smart
- Center for Human Identification, University of North Texas Health Science Center, 3500 Camp, Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth, TX 76107, USA
| | - Jonathan L King
- Center for Human Identification, University of North Texas Health Science Center, 3500 Camp, Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth, TX 76107, USA
| | - Melissa Muenzler
- 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
| | - 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
| | - 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.
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14
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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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15
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Crysup B, Woerner AE, King JL, Budowle B. Graph Algorithms for Mixture Interpretation. Genes (Basel) 2021; 12:genes12020185. [PMID: 33514030 PMCID: PMC7911948 DOI: 10.3390/genes12020185] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2020] [Revised: 01/22/2021] [Accepted: 01/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The scale of genetic methods are presently being expanded: forensic genetic assays previously were limited to tens of loci, but now technologies allow for a transition to forensic genomic approaches that assess thousands to millions of loci. However, there are subtle distinctions between genetic assays and their genomic counterparts (especially in the context of forensics). For instance, forensic genetic approaches tend to describe a locus as a haplotype, be it a microhaplotype or a short tandem repeat with its accompanying flanking information. In contrast, genomic assays tend to provide not haplotypes but sequence variants or differences, variants which in turn describe how the alleles apparently differ from the reference sequence. By the given construction, mitochondrial genetic assays can be thought of as genomic as they often describe genetic differences in a similar way. The mitochondrial genetics literature makes clear that sequence differences, unlike the haplotypes they encode, are not comparable to each other. Different alignment algorithms and different variant calling conventions may cause the same haplotype to be encoded in multiple ways. This ambiguity can affect evidence and reference profile comparisons as well as how “match” statistics are computed. In this study, a graph algorithm is described (and implemented in the MMDIT (Mitochondrial Mixture Database and Interpretation Tool) R package) that permits the assessment of forensic match statistics on mitochondrial DNA mixtures in a way that is invariant to both the variant calling conventions followed and the alignment parameters considered. The algorithm described, given a few modest constraints, can be used to compute the “random man not excluded” statistic or the likelihood ratio. The performance of the approach is assessed in in silico mitochondrial DNA mixtures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Crysup
- Center for Human Identification, University of North Texas Health Science Center, 3500 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth, TX 76107, USA; (A.E.W.); (J.L.K.); (B.B.)
- Correspondence:
| | - August E. Woerner
- Center for Human Identification, University of North Texas Health Science Center, 3500 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth, TX 76107, USA; (A.E.W.); (J.L.K.); (B.B.)
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Genetics, University of North Texas Health Science Center, 3500 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth, TX 76107, USA
| | - Jonathan L. King
- Center for Human Identification, University of North Texas Health Science Center, 3500 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth, TX 76107, USA; (A.E.W.); (J.L.K.); (B.B.)
| | - Bruce Budowle
- Center for Human Identification, University of North Texas Health Science Center, 3500 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth, TX 76107, USA; (A.E.W.); (J.L.K.); (B.B.)
- 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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16
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Smart U, Cihlar JC, Mandape SN, Muenzler M, King JL, Budowle B, Woerner AE. A Continuous Statistical Phasing Framework for the Analysis of Forensic Mitochondrial DNA Mixtures. Genes (Basel) 2021; 12:128. [PMID: 33498312 PMCID: PMC7909279 DOI: 10.3390/genes12020128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [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: 12/21/2020] [Revised: 01/14/2021] [Accepted: 01/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite the benefits of quantitative data generated by massively parallel sequencing, resolving mitotypes from mixtures occurring in certain ratios remains challenging. In this study, a bioinformatic mixture deconvolution method centered on population-based phasing was developed and validated. The method was first tested on 270 in silico two-person mixtures varying in mixture proportions. An assortment of external reference panels containing information on haplotypic variation (from similar and different haplogroups) was leveraged to assess the effect of panel composition on phasing accuracy. Building on these simulations, mitochondrial genomes from the Human Mitochondrial DataBase were sourced to populate the panels and key parameter values were identified by deconvolving an additional 7290 in silico two-person mixtures. Finally, employing an optimized reference panel and phasing parameters, the approach was validated with in vitro two-person mixtures with differing proportions. Deconvolution was most accurate when the haplotypes in the mixture were similar to haplotypes present in the reference panel and when the mixture ratios were neither highly imbalanced nor subequal (e.g., 4:1). Overall, errors in haplotype estimation were largely bounded by the accuracy of the mixture's genotype results. The proposed framework is the first available approach that automates the reconstruction of complete individual mitotypes from mixtures, even in ratios that have traditionally been considered problematic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Utpal Smart
- Center for Human Identification, University of North Texas Health Science Center, 3500 Camp, Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth, TX 76107, USA; (U.S.); (J.C.C.); (S.N.M.); (M.M.); (J.L.K.); (B.B.)
| | - Jennifer Churchill Cihlar
- Center for Human Identification, University of North Texas Health Science Center, 3500 Camp, Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth, TX 76107, USA; (U.S.); (J.C.C.); (S.N.M.); (M.M.); (J.L.K.); (B.B.)
- 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; (U.S.); (J.C.C.); (S.N.M.); (M.M.); (J.L.K.); (B.B.)
| | - Melissa Muenzler
- Center for Human Identification, University of North Texas Health Science Center, 3500 Camp, Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth, TX 76107, USA; (U.S.); (J.C.C.); (S.N.M.); (M.M.); (J.L.K.); (B.B.)
| | - Jonathan L. King
- Center for Human Identification, University of North Texas Health Science Center, 3500 Camp, Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth, TX 76107, USA; (U.S.); (J.C.C.); (S.N.M.); (M.M.); (J.L.K.); (B.B.)
| | - Bruce Budowle
- Center for Human Identification, University of North Texas Health Science Center, 3500 Camp, Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth, TX 76107, USA; (U.S.); (J.C.C.); (S.N.M.); (M.M.); (J.L.K.); (B.B.)
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Genetics, 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; (U.S.); (J.C.C.); (S.N.M.); (M.M.); (J.L.K.); (B.B.)
- 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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17
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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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