NCJ Number
201550
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 48 Issue: 4 Dated: July 2003 Pages: 794-797
Date Published
July 2003
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This study tested the proficiency of FTA cards in collecting buccal samples from long-term betel quid (BQ) users of an indigenous Filipino community and subsequent PCR-based analysis using nine STR markers.
Abstract
BQ chewing is a tradition in the tropical and subtropical areas of India, Southeast Asia, East Africa, and New Guinea. BQ chewing poses a problem to the collection and DNA analysis of buccal samples for genetic studies or forensic investigations. One way of collecting buccal samples is to spread the sample on treated cards immediately after swabbing. FTA cards were evaluated for their usefulness in the collection and subsequent PCR-based profiling of buccal samples using nine Short Tandem Repeat (STR) markers. The utility of the FTA cards was compared to a standard organic extraction procedure. Findings revealed a higher success rate of amplification for the samples prepared using the FTA cards (89 percent) when compared to the standard organic extraction procedure (7 percent). The presence of inhibitors in liquid DNA samples was verified when control DNA did not amplify the liquid BQ samples. The results are encouraging because FTA cards are more practical for use in a field setting than the traditional tubes containing buccal swabs. References