Skeletal remains are among the most difficult types of samples encountered in forensic DNA casework and historical investigations due to prolonged exposure to environmental insults. DNA extracted from bone often is degraded, in low quantities, and contains co-purified inhibitors from the surrounding soil and/or burial vault material. When sexually dimorphic skeletal elements are not recovered, determining the sex of a decedent can be challenging. With unidentified human skeletal remains, genetic data often are evaluated in concert with anthropological analyses, as well as other types of metadata, to improve confidence in making associations or for positive identifications. This study evaluated a multi-faceted molecular genetic approach to increasing the amount of data that can be recovered from degraded skeletal remains. Results demonstrate that using a newer-generation multiplex (GlobalFiler™) with an expanded set of highly discriminatory DNA markers - combined with co-amplification of three different sex-determining loci, one additional PCR cycle, and testing multiple cuttings from the same bone or multiple regions within a skeleton - can improve reliability and accuracy in skeletal remains identifications by providing data concordance.

• MeSH
• antropologie MeSH
• DNA fingerprinting * MeSH
• DNA * izolace a purifikace   MeSH
• konsensus MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mikrosatelitní repetice MeSH
• reprodukovatelnost výsledků MeSH
• tělesné pozůstatky * MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Názvy látek
• DNA * MeSH

Bones are a valuable source of DNA in forensic, anthropological, and archaeological investigations. There are a number of scenarios in which the only samples available for testing are highly degraded and/or skeletonized. Often it is necessary to perform more than one type of marker analysis on such samples in order to compile sufficient data for identification. Lineage markers, such as Y-STRs and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), represent important systems to complement autosomal DNA markers and anthropological metadata in making associations between unidentified remains and living relatives or for characterization of the remains for historical and archaeological studies. In this comparative study, Y-STR typing with both Yfiler™ and Yfiler™ Plus (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, MA, USA) was performed on a variety of human skeletal remains, including samples from the American Civil War (1861-1865), the late nineteenth century gold rush era in Deadwood, SD, USA (1874-1877), the Seven Years' War (1756-1763), a seventeenth-century archaeological site in Raspenava, Bohemia (Czech Republic), and World War II (1939-1945). The skeletal remains used for this study were recovered from a wide range of environmental conditions and were extracted using several common methods. Regardless of the DNA extraction method used and the age/condition of the remains, 22 out of 24 bone samples yielded a greater number of alleles using the Yfiler™ Plus kit compared to the Yfiler™ kit using the same quantity of input DNA. There was no discernable correlation with the degradation index values for these samples. Overall, the efficacy of the Yfiler™ Plus assay was demonstrated on degraded DNA from skeletal remains. Yfiler™ Plus increases the discriminatory power over the previous generation multiplex due to the larger set of Y-STR markers available for analysis and buffer modifications with the newer version kit. Increased haplotype resolution is provided to infer or refute putative genetic relationships.

• Klíčová slova
• Degraded DNA, Historical remains, Lineage testing, Rapidly mutating Y-STRs, Skeletal remains, Y-STR typing, Yfiler™ Plus,
• MeSH
• alely MeSH
• DNA fingerprinting přístrojové vybavení   MeSH
• kosti a kostní tkáň chemie   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• lidský chromozom Y MeSH
• mikrosatelitní repetice * MeSH
• nekrotická degradace DNA MeSH
• oběti katastrofy MeSH
• polymerázová řetězová reakce MeSH
• tělesné pozůstatky * MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• srovnávací studie MeSH

During a rescue excavation in October 2011, archaeologists discovered a mass grave with 10 individuals. The skeletons should belong to victims of the battle of Reichenberg between the Austrian and Prussian armies on April 21, 1757. Several bones of the skeletons were covered with a blue colored encrustation. Initial DNA analysis failed due to strong inhibition. Chemical analysis of the bluish encrustation indicated the presence of the iron phosphate mineral vivianite (Fe3(PO4)2·(H2O)8). This technical note describes a novel procedure for the removal of this inhibitory substance.

• Klíčová slova
• DNA extraction, PCR inhibitors, Vivianite,
• MeSH
• DNA fingerprinting MeSH
• DNA izolace a purifikace   MeSH
• fosfáty škodlivé účinky   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• odběr biologického vzorku přístrojové vybavení   metody   MeSH
• pohřeb MeSH
• polymerázová řetězová reakce * MeSH
• soudní antropologie přístrojové vybavení   metody   MeSH
• železnaté sloučeniny škodlivé účinky   MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Názvy látek
• DNA MeSH
• ferrous phosphate MeSH Prohlížeč
• fosfáty MeSH
• železnaté sloučeniny MeSH