Two examples of null alleles at the D19S433 locus due to the same 4 bp deletion in the presumptive primer binding site of the AmpFlSTR Identifiler kit

Two cases of allelic loss at the D19S433 locus after multiplex PCR with the AmpFlSTR Identifiler kit (Applied Biosystems) are described. In both cases the failure of PCR resulted in genetic inconsistencies due to opposite homozygosity. After singleplex PCR with published primers additional alleles were observed and Mendelian inheritance was restored. These PCR products were sequenced and in both cases the same 4 bp deletion near the 3′ end of the repeat region was detected in two alleles of different length. The frequency of these null alleles (two events in 1026 allelic transfers) amounts to 0.0019 (95% confidence limits: 0.0002-0.0070).     

Determination of alpha1-fetoprotein in bloodstains by means of electrophoresis on cellulose acete (author's transl)]

The distinction of foetal from adult blood stains prepared from 219 cord blood samples was possible, without exception, up to eight months by means of alpha1-fetoprotein precipitation, carried out by immuno-electrophoresis on cellulose acetate (Biotest) instead of agar gel, as described by Patzelt, Geserick and Lignitz. The material carrying the blood stains (glass, wood, paper and linen) did not influence the results.     

Partnership in U.K. Biobank: A Third Way for Genomic Property?

A property analysis of the U.K. Biobank reveals a new imagination of the genomic biobank as a national common-pool resource. U.K. Biobank's treatment of property and governance exhibit both strengths and weaknesses that may be instructive to genome project planners around the world.