NCJ Number
212647
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 50 Issue: 6 Dated: November 2005 Pages: 1394-1401
Date Published
November 2005
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This study examined the possible cross-reaction of fungal DNA using human STR primers.
Abstract
This is the first reported study that isolated fungi from bone samples exposed to conditions of burning, burial, and exhumation for the purpose of investigating possible interferences of fungal DNA from filamentous microfungi in subsequent DNA analysis of human samples. A gender test marker (HUMAMEL) and nine autosomal markers (HUMCSF1PO, HUMDHFRP2, D8S306, HUMFES/FPS, HUMFGA, HUMF13A01, HUMTH01, HUMTPOX, and HUMvWA) were used based on the availability of data on genetic polymorphisms of the Philippine population. Bone samples taken from a fire tragedy were used. Twenty-four fungal isolates were obtained from bone samples of 5 exhumed remains. This article describes the DNA analysis and data interpretation, simulation experiments, and casework application. The specificity of the 10 STR markers for human DNA was demonstrated. The presence of nonhuman DNA in five bone samples did not alter scoring of detected alleles. Amplification, however, was inhibited in the presence of a high proportion of fungal DNA compared to human DNA (1,000 ng:1 ng) in DNA mixture experiments. These findings emphasize the importance of carefully analyzing the presence of nonhuman biological contaminants that may affect DNA typing of environmentally impacted forensic samples, so as to avoid spurious data interpretation. 1 table, 5 figures, and 15 references