Analysis of forensically used autosomal short tandem repeat markers in Polish and neighboring populations.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the homogeneity of Polish populations with respect to STRs chosen as core markers of the Polish Forensic National DNA Intelligence Database, and to provide reference allele frequencies and to explore the genetic interrelationship between Poland and neighboring countries. The allele frequency distribution of 10 STRs included in the SGMplus kit was analyzed among 2176 unrelated individuals from 6 regional Polish populations and among 4321 individuals from Germany (three samples), Austria, The Netherlands, Sweden, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Belarus, Ukraine and the Russian Federation (six samples). The statistical approach consisted of AMOVA, calculation of pairwise Rst values and analysis by multidimensional scaling.

Identification of West Eurasian mitochondrial haplogroups by mtDNA SNP screening: results of the 2006-2007 EDNAP collaborative exercise.

The European DNA Profiling (EDNAP) Group performed a collaborative exercise on a mitochondrial (mt) DNA screening assay that targeted 16 nucleotide positions in the coding region and allowed for the discrimination of major west Eurasian mtDNA haplogroups. The purpose of the exercise was to evaluate the stability and reproducibility of the self-developed multiplex-PCR and multiplex-single base extension kit by blind-testing saliva and hair shaft samples provided by the organizing laboratory. The overall success rate in obtaining useful results was high given that some of the participating laboratories had no previous experience with the technology and/or mtDNA analysis.

The EDNAP mitochondrial DNA population database (EMPOP) collaborative exercises: organisation, results and perspectives.

This paper presents an overview of the organisation and the results of the collaborative exercises (CE) of the European DNA Profiling (EDNAP) Group's mitochondrial DNA population database project (EMPOP). The aim of the collaborative exercises was to determine whether uniformity of mtDNA sequencing results could be achieved among different laboratories. These were asked to sequence either the complete mtDNA control region or the two hypervariable regions HVI (16024-16365) and HVII (73-340) from DNA extracts, buccal swabs or bloodstains, proceeding in accordance with the protocol and strategies used in each individual laboratory.

STR analysis of artificially degraded DNA-results of a collaborative European exercise.

Degradation of human DNA extracted from forensic stains is, in most cases, the result of a natural process due to the exposure of the stain samples to the environment. Experiences with degraded DNA from casework samples show that every sample may exhibit different properties in this respect, and that it is difficult to systematically assess the performance of routinely used typing systems for the analysis of degraded DNA samples. Using a batch of artificially degraded DNA with an average fragment size of approx.