A Capillary Electrophoresis Method for Identifying Forensically Relevant Body Fluids Using miRNAs

• NCJ Number: 255698
• Journal: Legal Medicine Volume: 30 Dated: January 2018 Pages: 1-4
• Author(s): Carrie Mayes; Sarah Seashols-Williams; Sheree Hughes-Stamm
• Date Published: January 2018
• Length: 4 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2016-DN-BX-0001
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Justice (NIJ)
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical); Report (Study/Research); Report (Grant Sponsored); Program/Project Description
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study designed a preliminary 8-marker system for body fluid identification (BFID) that includes an endogenous reference gene (let-7g) to differentiate between venous blood (miR-451a and miR-142-3p), menstrual blood (miR-141-3p and miR-412-3p), semen (miR-891a and miR-10b), and saliva (miR-205), using a capillary electrophoresis approach.

Abstract

Body fluid identification (BFID) can provide crucial information during an investigation. In recent years, microRNAs (miRNAs) have shown considerable body fluid specificity, are able to be co-extracted with DNA, and their small size (18-25 nucleotides) makes them ideal for analyzing highly degraded forensic samples. The panel used in the current study is a linear primer system, in order to incorporate additional miRNA markers by forming a multiplex system. The miRNA system was able to distinguish between venous blood, menstrual blood, semen, and saliva, using a rudimentary data interpretation strategy. All STR amplifications from co-extracted DNA yielded complete profiles for human identification purposes. (publisher abstract modified)