Identification of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms Within mtDNA Genome of the Domestic Dog to Discriminate Individuals with Common HVI Haplotypes

• NCJ Number: 240072
• Journal: Forensic Science International: Genetics Volume: 6 Issue: 5 Dated: September 2012 Pages: 630-639
• Author(s): Donna L. Imes; Elizabeth J. Wictum; Marc W. Allard; Benjamin N. Sacks
• Date Published: September 2012
• Length: 10 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: University of California, Davis Veterinary Genetics Laboratory; University of California, Davis Forensic Sciences Graduate Program
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: Ireland

Annotation

This study sequenced the entire ~16 kb canine mitochondrial genome (mtGenome) of 100 unrelated domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris)and compared these to 246 published sequences to assess hypervariable region (HVI) haplotype frequencies.

Abstract

The researchers then used all available sequences to identify informative single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) outside of the control region for use in further resolving mtDNA haplotypes corresponding to common HVI haplotypes. Haplotype frequencies in the dataset were highly correlated with previous ones (e.g., Fst=0.02, r=0.90), suggesting the total dataset reasonably reflected the broader dog population. A total of 128 HVI haplotypes was represented. The 10 most common HVI haplotypes (n=184 dogs) represented 53.3 percent of the sample. The researchers identified a total of 71 SNPs in the mtGenomes (external to the control region) that resolved the 10 most common HVI haplotypes into 63 mtGenome subhaplotypes. The random match probability of the dataset based solely on the HVI sequences was 4 percent, whereas the random match probability of the mtGenome subhaplotypes was less than 1 percent. Thus, the panel of 71 SNPs identified in this study represents a useful forensic tool to further resolve the identity of individual dogs from mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). (Published Abstract)