An Investigation of Discrimination Capacity and the Cause of Null Alleles in Linear Array Mitostrips Using Control Region Sequence Data.

Published

October 16, 2008

Author(s)

Michael D. Coble, Margaret C. Kline, Janette W. Redman, Amy E. Decker, Peter Vallone, John Butler

Abstract

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis of forensic evidentiary materials such as degraded bones and shed hairs can provide the forensic scientist with some genetic information especially when highly discriminatory systems, such as nuclear STRs, completely fail. In addition to the low power of discrimination associated with common hypervariable regions 1 and 2 (HV1/HV2) types, mtDNA testing can be labor intensive and costly to perform. Previously, we have analyzed a set of 666 U.S. population samples (128 self-described Hispanics, 252 African Americans, and 286 Caucasians) using the Linear Array mtDNA typing kit. One advantage of this assay is that a series of 18 Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) in HV1 and HV2 are interrogated without the need to conduct cycle sequencing. All of the same population samples have also been fully sequenced for the mtDNA control region. In this report, a comparison of the levels of discrimination between the Linear Array and the sequence information using HV1, HV1 and HV2, and the entire control region was performed. We also surveyed the underlying cause of null alleles in Linear Arrays by examining the mtDNA HV1/HV2 sequence information for our population samples.

Citation

International Journal of Legal Medicine

Pub Type

Journals

Keywords

DNA typing, forensic science, mitochondrial haplogroups, mtDNA, null alleles, SSO probes

Citation

Coble, M. , Kline, M. , Redman, J. , Decker, A. , Vallone, P. and Butler, J. (2008), An Investigation of Discrimination Capacity and the Cause of Null Alleles in Linear Array Mitostrips Using Control Region Sequence Data., International Journal of Legal Medicine (Accessed October 27, 2025)