Comment on Kokshoorn, B, and Blankers, BJ 'Response to Grisedale, KS and van Daal, A: comparison of STR profiling from low template DNA extracts with and without the consensus profiling method'.

Kokshoorn and Blankers responded to our recent article by saying that replicate analysis and consensus profiling of low template samples was best in terms of reliability and objectivity. We agree that the consensus approach has benefits, particularly in eliminating non-repeating spurious alleles from the final profile. However, with the development of statistical models that can accommodate stochastic effects and allele drop in, it may be beneficial to perform a single amplification with three times the amount of template, since much information is lost from the profile using the consensus approach.