STR Markers and Challenges of Interpretation in the Genetic Identification

Short tandem repeat (STR) markers have been used by the forensic genetics community since the mid-1990s to produce DNA profiles to answer questions in criminal investigations and relationship testing. We will examine the STR markers commonly used by the forensic genetics community along with configurations of commercial STR kits that impact interpretation in Genetic Identification. Many applications of forensic genetics deal with degraded DNA in small quantities. This issue happens especially in the extraction and analysis of DNA from skeletal samples such as bones or teeth. In this paper we focused on specific challenges and solutions to genetic data analysis of old, degraded bone samples. Kinship analysis such as Disaster Victim Identification and Familial Searching involve very large numbers of comparisons. We will discuss the particularities such as the possible search strategies, diagnosis of mutation, ways to handle partial or mixed profiles affected by allelic dropout, and drop-in.

Keywords:

Short tandem repeat (STR) , Genetic Identification , Kinship analysis