DNA Commission of the International Society of Forensic Genetics (ISFG): an update of the recommendations on the use of Y-STRs in forensic analysis

The DNA Commission of the International Society of Forensic Genetics (ISFG) regularly publishes guidelines and recommendations concerning the application of DNA polymorphisms to the problems of human identification. A previous recommendation published in 2001 has already addressed Y-chromosome polymorphisms, with particular emphasis on short tandem repeats (STRs). Since then, the use of Y-STRs has become very popular, and a numerous new loci have been introduced. The current recommendations address important aspects to clarify problems regarding the nomenclature, the definition of loci and alleles, population genetics and reporting methods.     

Analysis of artificially degraded DNA using STRs and SNPs--results of a collaborative European (EDNAP) exercise

Recently, there has been much debate about what kinds of genetic markers should be implemented as new core loci that constitute national DNA databases. The choices lie between conventional STRs, ranging in size from 100 to 450 bp; mini-STRs, with amplicon sizes less than 200 bp; and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). There is general agreement by the European DNA Profiling Group (EDNAP) and the European Network of Forensic Science Institutes (ENFSI) that the reason to implement new markers is to increase the chance of amplifying highly degraded DNA rather than to increase the discriminating power of the current techniques. A collaborative study between nine European and US laboratories was organised under the auspices of EDNAP. Each laboratory was supplied with a SNP multiplex kit (Foren-SNPs) provided by the Forensic Science Service, two mini-STR kits provided by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and a set of degraded DNA stains (blood and saliva). Laboratories tested all three multiplex kits, along with their own existing DNA profiling technique, on the same sets of degraded samples. Results were collated and analysed and, in general, mini-STR systems were shown to be the most effective. Accordingly, the EDNAP and ENFSI working groups have recommended that existing STR loci are reengineered to provide smaller amplicons, and the adoption of three new European core loci has been agreed.     

Book reviews

Naum Jasny, Soviet Economists of the Twenties: Names to be Remembered. Cambridge: at the University Press, 1972. ix + 218 pp. £3.80. $12.50.

Leonard Joel Kirsch, Soviet Wages: Changes in Structure and Administration since 1956. Cambridge, Mass. and London: The MIT Press, 1972. 237 pp. $12.50.

Robert C. Stuart, The Collective Farm in Soviet Agriculture. Lexington, Mass. and London: Lexington Books, D. C. Heath & Co., 1972. xx + 254 pp. $12.50.

Mose L. Harvey, Leon Goure and Vladimir Prokofieff, Science and Technology as an Instrument of Soviet Policy. Monographs in International Affairs: Center for Advanced International Studies, University of Miami, 1972. xvi + 219 pp. $5.95 (hard cover). $4.95 (paper cover).

I. S. Koropeckyj, Location Problems in Soviet Industry Before World War II. The Case of the Ukraine. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1971, and London: OUP, 1972. xiii + 219 pp. £5.75.

Chris Osakwe, The Participation of the Soviet Union in Universal International Organizations: A Political and Legal Analysis of Soviet Strategies and Aspirations inside ILO, UNESCO and WHO. Leiden: A. W. Sijthoff, 1972. xvi + 194 pp. Dfl. 35.—

Dieter Pfaff, Das Sowjetische Transportrecht ah Teil des Wirtschaftsverwaltungsrechts. Hamburg: Hansischer Gilden‐Verlag, Joachim Heitmann & Co., 1970. 147 pp.

Roger Pethybridge, The Spread of the Russian Revolution; Essays on London: Macmillan, 1972. xii + 238 pp. £4.50.

Peter Kenez, Civil War in South Russia, 1918: The First Year of the Volunteer Army. Berkeley, Calif, and London: University of California Press, 1971. 351 pp. $10.00. £4.75.

George Lenczowski, Soviet Advances in the Middle East. Washington, D.C.: American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, 1972. 176 pp. $4.00 (paperback).

Robert C. Williams, Culture in Exile. Russian Emigrés in Germany 1881–1941. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 1972. xviii + 404 pp. $14.50. £6.90.

Lucjan Blit, The Origins of Polish Socialism: The History and Ideas of the First Polish Socialist Party 1878–1886. Cambridge: University Press, 1971. ix + 160 pp. £3.00 $10.00

Andrew C. Janos and William B. Slottman (eds.), Revolution in Perspective. Essays on the Hungarian Soviet Republic of 1919. Berkeley, Calif, and London: University of California Press, 1972. (Russian and East European Studies.) x + 185 pp. $10.00. £4.50.     

Allele frequencies for 70 autosomal SNP loci with U.S. Caucasian, African-American, and Hispanic samples

189 samples from 3 different U.S. sample groups Caucasian (74), African American (71) and Hispanic (44) were typed for 70 autosomal genetic markers. These 70 markers are bi-allelic (C/T) short nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). For each sample, the 70 SNP markers were typed in 11 unique 6-plexes and a single 4-plex PCR. A total of 10 of the 210 tests (70 loci x 3 populations) for Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium indicated a statistically significant result. In order to evaluate the minimum number of SNP loci needed to distinguish all 189 samples from one another, we ranked the loci according to their levels of observed heterozygosity and p-values obtained upon testing for Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The top 12 loci according to these ranking criteria were tabulated along with the number of unique genotypes observed when combining subsequent SNP markers. The 12 selected SNPs possessed an observed heterozygosity of >0.45 in all three populations examined and thus would be expected to exhibit more differences between samples. All of the 189 samples in this study were individualized with a subset of 12 SNP loci. However, it is likely that the addition of more than 12 SNP loci will be required to resolve larger sets of unrelated individuals from one another. By way of comparison, in these same 189 individuals all but one pair is resolved from one another with three of the traditional short tandem repeat (STR) loci possessing the highest heterozygosity values (D2S1338, D18S51, and FGA) run with the Identifiler kit. The final pair of unrelated samples could be resolved with the combination of 4 STR loci: D2S1338, D18S51, FGA, and VWA.