基于二代测序的混合检材精细化分型研究

目的基于二代测序平台进行混合检材精细化STR分型,并评估其法医学应用价值。方法收集性侵案件中3例混合检材及其比对样本,采用M48磁珠提取纯化试剂盒提取样本DNA,使用Foren SeqTM DNA Signature Prep试剂盒制备文库,Mi Seq FGx平台进行测序,Foren SeqTM Universal Analysis v1.2.1软件进行数据分析,将STR序列多态分型与长度多态分型进行比较。结果对3例混合检材STR分型进行拆分,在D3S1358、D13S317与D9S1122基因座发现存在同一长度多态等位基因包含两个个体的序列多态等位基因的情况。结论二代测序技术可对混合检材进行精细鉴别,为混合分型数据拆分提供更多线索和依据。     

长度多态与序列多态STR模型法庭科学参数比较

基于毛细管电泳平台进行STR基因座分型是当前个体识别的金标准。二代测序技术支持STR序列多态分型,并有可能在法庭科学领域被广泛应用。相比长度多态性,STR测序可提供更大的信息量,但相关法庭科学参数的定量计算十分必要。本文建立了简单的STR基因座模型,分别计算了长度多态和序列多态STR模型基因座的法医遗传学参数,结果表明:对于单个STR基因座,其序列多态模型的个体识别力和非父排除率相比长度多态模型更高,说明序列多态STR遗传标记识别无关个体及排除非父的能力更强。在联用15个非连锁遗传模拟基因座进行法医DNA分析时,长度多态模型和序列多态模型的累积匹配概率分别在10-18和10-26量级;而如果要达到长度多态模型15个基因座的累积匹配概率(10-18),仅需使用10个非连锁模拟序列多态STR基因座。希冀此模型比较能为二代测序STR数据的法庭科学应用提供参考。     

以CE-PCR产物为模板的STR序列多态分型方法

目的实现以荧光标记复合扩增产物为扩增模板的STR序列多态分型。方法筛选常用STR分型试剂盒基因座并设计引物,构建常染色体STR复合扩增体系。分别以毛细管电泳(CE)试剂盒GlobalFiler~(TM)、PowerPlex~?21和Identifiler~(TM) Plus的扩增产物为模板,扩增、建库测序及数据分析,评估体系分型准确性及对CE扩增产物的通用性,并与Precision ID GlobalFiler~(TM) NGS STR Panel体系进行比较。结果该复合扩增体系能够从3款CE试剂盒的扩增产物中获得所有基因座的正确分型和序列多态信息,其体系均衡性和杂合子均衡性亦良好,且均优于Precision ID体系。结论该复合扩增体系建立了CE技术与二代测序技术之间的桥梁,实现了检材的零利用,能够进一步挖掘荧光标记扩增产物的STR序列多态信息,是对现有技术的提升和有效补充。     

运用法医学二代测序技术侦破19年久冷案

基于Y染色体STR(Y-STR)多态性的男性家系排查技术帮助全国各地破获了诸多冷案积案。然而对于出现明显降解的生物检材,或因检出Y-STR基因座数量过少而无法开展有效排查。STRSeqTyperY68男性家系精细化排查试剂盒,定位于二代测序技术,利用Mi Seq FGx二代测序平台可单管实现52个单拷贝Y-STR基因座、6个二拷贝Y-STR基因座、1个三拷贝Y-STR基因座和1个性别判定基因座的分型检测,并能同时支持STR长度和/或序列多态分型,全部基因座扩增子长度在350bp以下,且其中62个不大于300bp,适用于降解检材的检测。本文报道一起长达19年未破的强奸杀人案,用传统STR检测方法仅得到24个Y-STR基因座分型,部分300bp以上的Y-STR片段未检出,但通过二代测序方法使用STRSeqTyperY68试剂盒完整得到了67个Y-STR和1个性别基因座分型,从而帮助办案单位锁定了嫌疑人所在的男性家系,为案件侦破提供了关键技术支撑。     

基于高通量测序进行无创产前亲子鉴定的可行性

目的初步探讨基于高通量测序进行STR分型的技术方法应用于无创产前亲子鉴定的可行性。方法选择13个STR基因座(6个常染色体STR基因座,6个Y染色体STR基因座,1个性别判定基因座),进行复合PCR扩增和高通量测序文库构建后,采用Ion PGM400高通量测序平台进行测序,并采用自主研发软件NGS-STR genotyper(perl脚本)进行STR分型,本文简称上述过程为NGS-STR分型。对13个母子配对混合样本(母亲:儿子=2%~50%)、1组家系样本进行了上述NGS-STR分型,旨在(1)了解其在混合样本中的灵敏度及分型情况;(2)了解其在无创产前亲子鉴定中的应用可能性。结果 (1)当混合样本中低组分(儿子)的比例超过8%,所有基因座均可检出低组分的STR信息;(2)对1例血浆样本进行NGS-STR分型,共计69.2%的基因座可检出胎儿的STR基因型信息,且所有检出基因座均符合孟德尔遗传规律。结论初步证明了NGS-STR分型技术具有进行无创产前亲子鉴定的可行性。     

基于二代测序的24个STR基因座序列多态性

目的对95名中国汉族无关个体的24个STR基因座序列多态性进行调查。方法采用Thermo Fisher公司25重早期测试试剂盒进行STR基因座复合扩增,应用HID-Ion AmpliSeq~(TM)文库试剂盒进行文库构建,使用Ion PGM~(TM)基因测序仪进行测序反应,对Ion Torrent Suite~(TM) v4.6软件显示的STR基因分型结果分析评估,使用PowerStats分析软件计算法庭科学参数,并与STR长度多态性的参数进行比较。结果 24个STR基因座共观察到252个不同重复序列的等位基因。其中,12个STR基因座具有相同长度的不同等位基因核心序列,其累计随机匹配概率为3.5×10~(-15),其累计非父排除率达0.999 998 2。序列多态与长度多态STR的累计随机匹配概率相差两个数量级。结论针对调查的中国汉族人群,本文24个序列多态STR基因座具有较好的个体识别能力,该数据为法医STR基因座序列多态性研究提供很好的参考。     

15个常染色体STR基因座在中国汉、藏、蒙、维、彝的序列分布差异

目的获取中国5个民族(汉、藏、蒙、维、彝)15个常染色体STR基因座分型,探索不同民族群体间基因座的等位基因序列差异分布。方法本文以高通量测序为检测手段,利用以直扩法文库构建技术为核心的SeqType?R系统,对来自中国汉、藏、蒙、维、彝族人群,共计304份样本进行了STR序列多态性分析。检测基因座包括Amel、D3S1358、D13S317、D7S820、D16S539、D8S1179、D21S11、D18S51、vWA、D5S818、FGA、TPOX、TH01、D2S1338、CSF1PO、D19S43。结果显示在9个STR基因座中,包括5个复杂序列基因座(D21S11、D2S1338、D3S1358、D8S1179、vWA)和4个简单序列基因座(D13S317、D16S539、D7S820、D5S818),序列多态性引起等位基因数目增加,增幅分别为汉族57%～169%,藏族29%～117%,蒙古族43%～100%,彝族29%～110%,维族56%～160%。由此导致这9个基因座个体识别率平均增加4.3%～5.8%。SeqTyper?R所涵盖的15个常染色体STR基因座随机匹配概率提高3个数量级,人群均值由7.2E-15下降至6.0E-18。其中维族人群变化最为突出(1.8E-15下降至1.6E-19)。结论等位基因频率统计显示,基因座亚型分布比例在不同人群中存在差异。     

怒族STR基因频率分布及在法医学中的应用研究

<正> STR是由2～7bp重复单位构成的微卫星DNA,其多态片段长度范围大多在100～500bp之间。STR基因座具有扩增效率高和判型准确,并且适用于微量甚至降解生物检材的DNA分型技术等优点,被广泛应用于法医学领域。 本文作者用基因扫描技术对我国云南怒族人群84名无关个体和10个家系进行TH01、TPOX、CSF1PO、D5S818、D13S317、D7S820、D3S1358、VWA、FGA等9个STR基因座基因频率分布调查及STR分型方法标准化的探讨,从群体水平上阐明该民族STR遗传结构及其变化规律。     

法医学二代测序STR分型准确度与测序深度的关联性评估

目的利用实验数据对法医学二代测序STR分型测序深度与分型结果准确度的关联性进行评估。方法使用商业化基因组DNA制备单一来源和混合的DNA样本,以Thermo Fisher公司的25重早期测试试剂盒进行目的STR片段扩增,每种扩增产物分别使用4种不同的序列标签平行建库,并控制标记每一种序列标签的文库上机量依次占一张Ion 318芯片的1/4、1/8、1/16、1/32。经Ion PGMTM基因测序仪测序,以及Ion Torrent SuiteTM软件进行数据分析;同时对庞敬博等人发表的基于相同试剂盒和测序仪检测的95名中国汉族无关个体的6928条等位基因、影子峰和噪音序列进行测序深度统计分析,寻找测序深度与STR分型准确度的关联性。结果各基因座测序深度随文库上样量减少而呈明显下降趋势。对于单一来源样本,每张芯片上样不超过8个均一化文库可实现全部基因座的完整分型;对于1∶20比例的混合DNA,每张芯片上样不超过4个均一化文库时,未发现微量组分的等位基因丢失。人群数据测序深度统计显示,该体系基因座间存在不均衡性,有必要针对各基因座分别设定分析阈值参数。结论测序深度与法医学STR分型结果的准确性密切相关,各基因座最低测序深度与平均测序深度的比值可作为设定分析阈值的重要参考指标。本研究确定的单张芯片上样数量仅适用于本实验体系,但相关实验设计和方案可供其他实验体系开展类似工作参考。     

荧光标记复合扩增检测4个STR基因座多态性

目的建立荧光标记复合扩增D1S2142,D13S1492,D14S306,D15S659基因座检测分型方法,并对成都汉族群体4个基因座的遗传多态性进行调查。方法用6-FAM标记D1S2142和D15S659引物,HEX、TMR分别标记D14S306和D13S1492引物,PCR复合扩增,310基因分析仪电泳自动收集电泳结果数据,GeneScan Analysis Software3.7NT软件计算扩增产物片段相对大小,Genotyper(3.7NT软件进行样本基因型分型,建立了荧光标记复合扩增检测4个STR基因座基因型的方法,对145名成都汉族无关个体样本进行分型。结果荧光标记复合扩增D1S2142,D13S1492,D14S306,D15S659基因座,每个STR基因座都获得了清晰的基因型分型结果。145份样本,4个STR基因座分别检出10,14,7,12个等位基因和22,54,21,39种基因型,其基因型分布均符合Hardy-W e inberg平衡。4个基因座在成都汉族群体的杂合度分别依次为0.7793,0.8345,0.7793和0.8345;多态信息含量分别依次为:0.7656,0.8730,0.7470和0.8312。累计非父排除率为0.9783,累计个人识别机率为0.9999 917。结论荧光标记复合扩增D1S2142,D13S1492,D14S306,D15S659基因座,可实现对每个基因座准确分型;成都汉族群体该4个基因座的遗传学数据,可为群体遗传学和法医学研究与应用提供基础资料。     

Allelic alterations of STRs in archival paraffin embedded tissue as DNA source for paternity testing

Owing to a wrong name registered on ID card, the identity of a businessman who had been dead and cremated was suspected, which led his son failed to get legacy. In order to prove the parenthood, the son submitted the gastric cancer tissues surgically removed and embedded in a paraffin block as DNA source for paternity test. After extracting DNA with QIAamp DNA Blood Mini Kit, the 16 STR loci was amplified by two commercial kits of Sinofiler^® (ABI)and Powerplex 16 (Promega), respectively. Both of the STR profiles were similarly showing allelic imbalance pattern at some loci and an additional allele at locus D18S51. The cancerous tissues and adjacent normal tissues were then partitioned off from each other by microscopic analysis of H.E. stained sections and followed by DNA extracting and STR typing, respectively. The allelic alteration could not be found in normal tissues whereas it did in cancerous tissues whose STR profile showed complete loss of one allele (LOH) at loci D13S317 (allele 11 was lost), partial loss of one allele (pLOH) at loci D21S11, D7S820, D19S433, vWA, D12S391 and Amelogein and occurrence of an additional allele (allele 20 was added) at locus D18S51. The results demonstrated that the Paraffin Embedded cancer Tissue used as DNA source for forensic identification is possibly questionable because of their microsatellite instability (MSI) or loss of heterozygosity. It was suggested to partition the normal tissues from the cancer tissues by microscopic evaluation first and then analyzing DNA separately. Comparing the STRs profile of normal tissue with the son's blood sample, the final conclusion was acquired that the donor of the paraffin embedded tissues is the biological father of the son.     

The effectiveness of various strategies to improve DNA analysis of formaldehyde-damaged tissues from embalmed cadavers for human identification purposes

Formalin-fixed tissues provide the medical and forensic communities with alternative and often last resort sources of DNA for identification or diagnostic purposes. The DNA in these samples can be highly degraded and chemically damaged, making downstream genotyping using short tandem repeats (STRs) challenging. Therefore, the use of alternative genetic markers, methods that pre-amplify the low amount of good quality DNA present, or methods that repair the damaged DNA template may provide more probative genetic information. This study investigated whether whole genome amplification (WGA) and DNA repair could improve STR typing of formaldehyde-damaged (FD) tissues from embalmed cadavers. Additionally, comparative genotyping success using bi-allelic markers, including INDELs and SNPs, was explored. Calculated random match probabilities (RMPs) using traditional STRs, INDEL markers, and two next generation sequencing (NGS) panels were compared across all samples. Overall, results showed that neither WGA nor DNA repair substantially improved STR success rates from formalin-fixed tissue samples. However, when DNA from FD samples was genotyped using INDEL and SNP-based panels, the RMP of each sample was markedly lower than the RMPs calculated from partial STR profiles. Therefore, the results of this study suggest that rather than attempting to improve the quantity and quality of severely damaged and degraded DNA prior to STR typing, a more productive approach may be to target smaller amplicons to provide more discriminatory DNA identifications. Furthermore, an NGS panel with less loci may yield better results when examining FD samples, due to more optimized chemistries that result in greater allelic balance and amplicon coverage.     

Validation of STR typing by capillary electrophoresis

With the use of capillary electrophoresis (CE), high-resolution electrophoretic separation of short tandem repeat (STR) loci can be achieved in a semiautomated fashion. Laser-induced detection of fluorescently labeled PCR products and multicolor analysis enable the rapid generation of multilocus DNA profiles. In this study, conditions for typing PCR-amplified STR loci by capillary electrophoresis were investigated using the ABI Prism 310 Genetic Analyzer (Applied Biosystems). An internal size standard was used with each run to effectively normalize mobility differences among injections. Alleles were designated by comparison to allelic ladders that were run with each sample set. Multiple runs of allelic ladders and of amplified samples demonstrate that allele sizes were reproducible, with standard deviations typically less than 0.12 bases for fragments up to 317 bases in length (largest allele analyzed) separated in a 47 cm capillary. Therefore, 99.7% of all alleles that are the same length should fall within the measurement error window of +/- 0.36 bases. Microvariants of the tetranucleotide repeats were also accurately typed by the analytical software. Alleles differing in size by one base could be resolved in two-donor DNA mixtures in which the minor component comprised > or = 5% of the total DNA. Furthermore, the quantitative data format (i.e., peak amplitude) can in some instances assist in determining individual STR profiles in mixed samples. DNA samples from previously typed cases (typed for RFLP, AmpliType PM+DQA1, and/or D1S80) were amplified using AmpFlSTR Profiler Plus and COfiler and were evaluated using the ABI Prism 310. Most samples yielded typable results. Compared with previously determined results for other loci, there were no discrepancies as to the inclusion or exclusion of suspects or victims. CE thus provides efficient separation, resolution, sensitivity and precision, and the analytical software provides reliable genotyping of STR loci. The analytical conditions described are suitable for typing samples such as reference and evidentiary samples from forensic casework.     

New alleles and mutational events at 14 STR loci from different German populations

The molecular origin of DNA mutations and the mutation rates were analyzed at 14 short tandem repeat (STR) loci with samples from trio cases derived from 10 different German population samples. STR loci comprised of D2S1360, D3S1744, D4S2366, D5S2500, D6S474, D7S1517, D8S1132, D10S2325, D12S391, D18S51, D19S246, D20S480, D21S226, and D22S689. In a total of 488 meioses, 16 isolated genetic inconsistencies in 8 different STRs were observed, whereas no mutations were found at the other loci. The data of five mutations suggested the presence of silent or null alleles due to sequence variation in primer binding site. This could be confirmed for four suspected cases by the use of alternative primer sets and by DNA sequence analyses. Furthermore, this study revealed nine new allelic variants at five different loci.     

Allelic frequencies of 13 STR loci in autochthonous Basques from the province of Vizcaya (Spain)

Allelic frequencies of 13 STR loci (D3S1358, VWA, FGA, D8S1179, D21S11, D18S51, D5S818, D13S317, D16S539, TH01, TPOX, CSF1PO, and D7S820) were estimated from a sample of 73 unrelated healthy donors natives of the Spanish Basque province of Vizcaya. These STR loci constitute the core of polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based DNA genetic markers in the US Combined DNA Index System (CODIS). All STR loci analysed met Hardy-Weinberg expectations. Based upon the allelic frequencies, forensically important parameters including gene diversity (GD), polymorphism information content (PIC) and power of discrimination (PD) were calculated.     

Concordance Between the AmpFℓSTR® MiniFiler™ and AmpFℓSTR® Identifiler® PCR Amplification Kits in the Kuwaiti Population

Abstract:  The AmpFℓSTR^® MiniFiler™ polymerase chain reaction amplification kit, developed and supplied by Applied Biosystems, complements the AmpFℓSTR^® Identifiler^® polymerase chain reaction amplification kit (Applied Biosystems, Warrington, U.K.) by improving the success rate when profiling DNA that is degraded or contains inhibitors. Before applying the MiniFiler™ kit to casework, the profiles from 200 unrelated Kuwaitis were compared to Identifiler^® profiles. Concordance was observed for 99.875% (1598 of 1600) of the compared STR loci. The two discordant profiles displayed allelic dropout: one at the D13S317 locus due to nonamplification of allele 10 in the MiniFiler™ profile, and one at the D18S51 locus due to nonamplification of allele 18 in the Identifiler^® profile.     

Development and validation of the AmpFlSTR MiniFiler PCR Amplification Kit: a MiniSTR multiplex for the analysis of degraded and/or PCR inhibited DNA

DNA typing of degraded DNA samples can be a challenging task when using the current commercially available multiplex short tandem repeat (STR) analysis kits. However, the ability to type degraded DNA specimens improves by redesigning current STR marker amplicons such that smaller sized polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products are generated. In an effort to increase the amount of information derived from these types of DNA samples, the AmpFlSTR MiniFiler PCR Amplification Kit has been developed. The kit contains reagents for the amplification of eight miniSTRs which are the largest sized loci in the AmpFlSTR Identifiler PCR Amplification Kit (D7S820, D13S317, D16S539, D21S11, D2S1338, D18S51, CSF1PO, and FGA). Five of these STR loci (D16S539, D21S11, D2S1338, D18S51, and FGA) also are some of the largest loci in the AmpFlSTR SGM Plus kit. This informative nine-locus multiplex, which includes the gender-identification locus Amelogenin, has been validated according to the FBI/National Standards and SWGDAM guidelines. Our results demonstrate significant performance improvements in models of DNA degradation, PCR inhibition, and nonprobative samples when compared to the AmpFlSTR Identifiler and SGM Plus kits. These data support that the MiniFiler kit will increase the likelihood of obtaining additional STR information from forensic samples in situations in which standard STR chemistries fail to produce complete profiles.     

Characterization of new miniSTR loci to aid analysis of degraded DNA

A number of studies have demonstrated that successful analysis of degraded DNA specimens from mass disasters or forensic evidence improves with smaller sized polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products. We have scanned the literature for new STR loci, unlinked from the CODIS markers, which can generate amplicons less than 125 bp in size and would therefore be helpful in testing degraded DNA samples. New PCR primers were designed and tested for the STR loci D1S1677, D2S441, D4S2364, D10S1248, D14S1434, and D22S1045, arranged into two miniSTR triplexes. All loci show a moderate degree of polymorphism among 474 U.S. population samples tested and were reliable and sensitive to at least 100 pg of DNA template under controlled laboratory conditions and pristine DNA samples. The utility of these new loci were confirmed in comparing the success of the miniSTR assays for typing degraded bone samples while partial profiles were observed with the majority of the samples using a commercial STR kit.     

A comparison of the characteristics of profiles produced with the AMPFlSTR SGM Plus multiplex system for both standard and low copy number (LCN) STR DNA analysis.

DNA STR profiles have been generated from 1 ng and low copy number (LCN) templates using 28 and 34 cycles of amplification, respectively. Characteristics which facilitate the interpretation of profiles, such as heterozygous balance, allelic dropout and stutter proportions have been quantified. We demonstrate that a reduction in DNA template coupled with an increase in amplification cycle number produces an increased rate of allelic dropout out which can be correlated to the peak areas of those alleles observed. In addition, the LCN conditions increase the degree of peak area asymmetry observed from heterozygotes and the size range of stutters. Analysis of the data allows us to develop sets of guidelines appropriate for interpreting both single and mixed DNA profiles.