Abstract
Micro-RNAs (miRNAs) can be specifically expressed in forensically relevant body fluids such as blood or saliva. The aim of the study was to develop a simultaneous extraction and analysis protocol that allows for the acquisition of a DNA profile and the identity of the body fluid using a single process. DNA and micro-RNA were extracted from blood and saliva before undergoing a cDNA synthesis step by using stem-loop reverse transcription PCR. The resulting extracts containing DNA and cDNA synthesized from body fluid-specific miRNA markers then underwent standard STR analysis using a modified ABI AmpFℓSTR(®) NGM SElect™ kit. In all samples, a full DNA profile was obtained along with additional peaks corresponding to the miRNA marker targeted. In all cases, blood samples profiled exhibited a peak indicating the presence of the blood-specific miRNA marker and the saliva sample profiled exhibited a peak indicating the presence of the saliva-specific miRNA marker.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 967-71 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Journal of Forensic Sciences |
| Volume | 58 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| Early online date | 17 May 2013 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 9 Jul 2013 |