Paternity testing and DNA identification

As a physician  who is interested in learning  new information constantly  i am always on the lookout to read new stuff .

I got interested in  DNA  testing  for  ID and paternity after the recent railway tragedies in  India  and  also  a juicy news of ND. Tiwari's "new son "

Over the past decade, the human identity testing community has settled on

a set of core short tandem repeat (STR) loci that are widely used for DNA typingapplications. A variety of commercial kits enable robust amplification of these core STR loci. A brief history is presented regarding the selection of core autosomal and Y-chromosomal STR markers. The physical location of each STR locus in the human genome is delineated and allele ranges and

variants observed in human populations are summarized as are mutation rates observed from parentage testing. In

ternet resources for additional information on core STR loci ar

e reviewed. Additional topics are also

discussed including potential linkage of STR loci to genetic disease-causing genes,

probabilistic predictions of sample ethnicity,

and desirable characteristics for additional

STR loci that may be added in the future to

the current core loci. These core STR loci,

which form the basis for DNA databases worldwid

e, will continue to play an important

role in forensic science for many years to come.

KEYWORDS:

forensic science, DNA typing, short tandem repeat, mutation rate,

CSF1PO, FGA, TH01, TPOX, VWA, D3

S1358, D5S818, D7S820, D8S1179, D13S317,

D16S539, D18S51, D21S11, D2S1338, D19S433,

Penta D, Penta E, SE33, CODIS,

national DNA databases, Y-STR, Y-

chromosome, DYS19, DYS385, DYS389I/II,

DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, DYS393, DYS

437, DYS438, DYS439, DYS448, DYS456,

DYS458, DYS635, Y-GATA-H4 

13 genetic markers that form the core of the FBI

Laboratory’s Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) were selected in November 1997 .

almost one million samples are run annually with core STR loci as part of parentage testin.

J.M. Butler,

Review

: Genetic and Genomics of Core STR Loci

J. Forensic Sci, in press (Mar 2006 issue)

.

Page 3 of 48

It has been almost a decade since the 13 gene

tic markers that form the core of the FBI

Laboratory’s Combined DNA Index System (C

ODIS) were selected in November 1997.

Due to their use in the U.S.

national DNA database as well

as other criminal justice

databases around the world, these short tandem

repeat (STR) loci dominate the genetic information that has been colle

cted to-date on human beings In the U.S. and U.K.alone, more than five million profiles now exist in criminal justice DNA databases that

contain information from these core loci or a subsetIn addition, almost one millionsamples are run annually with core STR loci as part of parentage testing

The 13 CODIS loci used in the U.S. are CSF1PO, FGA, TH01, TPOX, VWA, D3S1358,D5S818, D7S820, D8S1179, D13S317,D16S539, D18S51, and D21S11