NCJ Number
133616
Journal
Journal of Forensic Science Volume: 36 Issue: 6 Dated: (November 1991) Pages: 1649-1661
Date Published
1991
Length
13 pages
Annotation
The application of dioxyribonucleic acid (DNA) typing methods for the potential identification of unknown human remains was investigated.
Abstract
DNA was isolated from compact bone tissue from badly decomposed bodies and from known and unknown human remains, using a decalcification and ion wash procedure. Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) loci yielded results in some cases, but more often the DNA was too degraded to produce RFLP patterns. No RFLP profiles could be obtained from putrified soft tissues. However, DNA extracted from compact bone tissue of human remains up to 11 years old was successfully amplified using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the VNTR loci DI S80, D17S5, COL2A1, and APO B, as well as the HLA-DQ alpha locus. This is especially significant, since PCR results were obtained from those samples whose DNA had been degraded substantially and had yielded no RFLP patterns. All DNA types determined from the compact bone tissue from decomposed bodies whose identification had been established first by other means (and whose parents or offspring were available for typing) demonstrated mendelian inheritance of the alleles of the loci analyzed. These results suggest that amplification and typing of DNA extracted from compact bone of human remains could be useful in establishing the identity of a person as well as in excluding possible false identifications. 20 references, 2 tables, and 6 figures (Author abstract)