Naslov
High estimated likelihood ratio might be insufficient in a DNA-lead process of war victim's identification

Autori
Džijan, Snježana ; Primorac, Dragan ; Marcikić, Mladen ; Anđelinović, Šimun ; Sutlović, Davorka ; Dabelić, Sanja ; Lauc, Gordan

Izvornik
Croatica chemica acta (0011-1643) 78 (2005), 3; 393-396

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Radovi u časopisima, članak, znanstveni

Ključne riječi
Amplified fragment length polymorphism; Y chromosome; mtDNA; DNA typing; Human identity; Paternity

Sažetak
With the advance in typing tools and extraction procedures in the recent years, DNA analysis developed in the amazingly powerful method for forensic analysis. For a number of years we are using autosomal STR typing as a tool to lead the process of identification of war victims in Croatia. Although DNA typing is very effective in finding possible identities of exhumed skeletal remains, this approach bears some risk of false identification. Here we report a case of a match between skeletal remains and son and wife of a missing person in 13 STR loci. Even though these skeletal remains also matched in 13 loci with mother of the same missing person, additional genetic testing (Y-STR and mitochondrial DNA) unequivocally excluded the proposed identity. Although likelihood ratios is the best measure of the significance of a genetic match between exhumed skeletal remains and relatives of a missing person, in database matching the meaning of likelihood ratio is not as clear as in simple paternity cases and great care is needed to avoid wrong interpretation. To reduce the risk of possible false identifications, in addition to DNA evidence we heavily relay on other types of evidence (such as the information about time, place and other conditions of disappearance), as well as anthropological and other "classical" forensic data as a "control mechanism" in the DNA-lead process.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Biologija, Temeljne medicinske znanosti

POVEZANOST RADA