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Bertolini E, Grignani P, Bertoglio B, Marrubini G, Mazzarelli D, Lucheschi S, Bosetti A, Fattorini P, Cattaneo C, Previderé C. Dead migrants in the Mediterranean: genetic analysis of bone samples exposed to seawater. Forensic Sci Int 2022; 340:111421. [PMID: 36029719 DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2022.111421] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2022] [Revised: 07/28/2022] [Accepted: 08/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
In April 2015, a fishing boat that departed from Libya with about 1,000 migrants on board sank in the Mediterranean Sea. Most of the migrants were packed in the hull of the boat and drowned in the shipwreck. After fifteen months, the ship was recovered from the seabed and brought to a Sicilian naval area for forensic investigations. Skeletal remains belonging to more than 700 people were retrieved. A selected sample composed of 80 victims was considered in order to evaluate the possibility of achieving genetic profiles useful for a positive identification from these challenging specimens. The molecular features of the DNA recovered from a significant number of real casework samples exposed to seawater for long periods of time were described for the first time. Three different DNA extraction protocols and three different commercial kits were employed in order to generate genetic profiles based on the characterization of 21 autosomal STR loci. The combination of multiple DNA extractions and the cross-checking of multiple PCR amplifications with different kits allowed to obtain reliable genetic profiles characterized by at least 16 STR markers in more than 70% of the samples. The factors that could have affected the different quality of the genetic profiles were investigated and the bone preservation was examined through microscopic and macroscopic analyses. The approach presented in this study could be useful in the management of the genetic analysis of bone samples collected in other similar DVI scenarios. The genetic profiles recovered from the bone samples will be compared in kinship analysis to putative relatives of the victims collected in Africa in order to obtain positive identifications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emilie Bertolini
- LABANOF, Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche per la Salute, Sezione di Medicina Legale, Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy; Laboratorio di Genetica Forense, Dipartimento di Sanità Pubblica, Medicina Sperimentale e Forense, Università di Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Pierangela Grignani
- Laboratorio di Genetica Forense, Dipartimento di Sanità Pubblica, Medicina Sperimentale e Forense, Università di Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Barbara Bertoglio
- LABANOF, Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche per la Salute, Sezione di Medicina Legale, Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy; Laboratorio di Genetica Forense, Dipartimento di Sanità Pubblica, Medicina Sperimentale e Forense, Università di Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Giorgio Marrubini
- Dipartimento di Scienze del Farmaco, Università di Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Debora Mazzarelli
- LABANOF, Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche per la Salute, Sezione di Medicina Legale, Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy
| | - Stanilla Lucheschi
- LABANOF, Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche per la Salute, Sezione di Medicina Legale, Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy
| | | | - Paolo Fattorini
- Dipartimento Clinico di Scienze Mediche, Chirurgiche e della Salute, Università di Trieste, Trieste, Italy
| | - Cristina Cattaneo
- LABANOF, Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche per la Salute, Sezione di Medicina Legale, Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy
| | - Carlo Previderé
- Laboratorio di Genetica Forense, Dipartimento di Sanità Pubblica, Medicina Sperimentale e Forense, Università di Pavia, Pavia, Italy.
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Letter to the editor: the successful identification of a scuba diver's corpse after 26 years of submersion. Int J Legal Med 2020; 134:1973-1976. [PMID: 32206870 DOI: 10.1007/s00414-020-02282-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2020] [Accepted: 03/13/2020] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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3
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Latham KE, Miller JJ. DNA recovery and analysis from skeletal material in modern forensic contexts. Forensic Sci Res 2018; 4:51-59. [PMID: 30915417 PMCID: PMC6427720 DOI: 10.1080/20961790.2018.1515594] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2018] [Revised: 08/21/2018] [Accepted: 08/21/2018] [Indexed: 11/03/2022] Open
Abstract
The generation of a DNA profile from skeletal remains is an important part of the identification process in both mass disaster and unidentified person cases. Since bones and teeth are often the only biological materials remaining after exposure to environmental conditions, intense heat, certain traumatic events and in cases where a significant amount of time has passed since the death of the individual, the ability to purify large quantities of informative DNA from these hard tissues would be beneficial. Since sampling the hard tissues for genetic analysis is a destructive process, it is important to understand those environmental and intrinsic factors that contribute to DNA preservation. This will serve as a brief introduction to these topics, since skeletal sampling strategies and molecular taphonomy have been discussed in depth elsewhere. Additionally advances in skeletal DNA extraction and analysis will be discussed. Currently there is great variation in the DNA isolation methods used by laboratories to purify DNA from the hard tissues; however, a standardized set of short tandem repeat (STR) loci is analyzed by many US laboratories to allow for comparisons across samples and jurisdictions. Recent advances have allowed for the generation of DNA profiles from smaller quantities of template DNA and have expanded the number of loci analyzed for greater discriminatory power and predictions regarding the geographic ancestry and phenotype of the individual. Finally, utilizing databases and expanding the number of comparison samples will be discussed in light of their role in the identification process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Krista E. Latham
- Biology Department, Human Identification Center, University of Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Jessica J. Miller
- Biology Department, Human Identification Center, University of Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN, USA
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Cartozzo C, Singh B, Boone E, Simmons T. Evaluation of DNA Extraction Methods from Waterlogged Bones: A Pilot Study,. J Forensic Sci 2018; 63:1830-1835. [DOI: 10.1111/1556-4029.13792] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2017] [Revised: 03/06/2018] [Accepted: 03/06/2018] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Claire Cartozzo
- Integrative Life Sciences Program; Virginia Commonwealth University; Richmond VA 23284
- Department of Forensic Sciences; Virginia Commonwealth University; Richmond VA 23284
| | - Baneshwar Singh
- Department of Forensic Sciences; Virginia Commonwealth University; Richmond VA 23284
| | - Edward Boone
- Department of Statistical Sciences; Virginia Commonwealth University; Richmond VA 23284
| | - Tal Simmons
- Department of Forensic Sciences; Virginia Commonwealth University; Richmond VA 23284
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Morales Colón E, Hernández M, Candelario M, Meléndez M, Dawson Cruz T. Evaluation of a Freezer Mill for Bone Pulverization prior to
DNA
Extraction: An Improved Workflow for
STR
Analysis. J Forensic Sci 2017; 63:530-535. [DOI: 10.1111/1556-4029.13551] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2016] [Revised: 04/14/2017] [Accepted: 04/17/2017] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Emely Morales Colón
- Department of Forensic Science Virginia Commonwealth University 1015 Floyd Ave., PO Box 843079 Richmond VA 23284
| | - Mireya Hernández
- Puerto Rico Institute of Forensic Sciences PO Box 11878, Caparra Heights Station San Juan Puerto Rico 00922‐1878
| | - Mariel Candelario
- Puerto Rico Institute of Forensic Sciences PO Box 11878, Caparra Heights Station San Juan Puerto Rico 00922‐1878
| | - María Meléndez
- Puerto Rico Institute of Forensic Sciences PO Box 11878, Caparra Heights Station San Juan Puerto Rico 00922‐1878
| | - Tracey Dawson Cruz
- Department of Forensic Science Virginia Commonwealth University 1015 Floyd Ave., PO Box 843079 Richmond VA 23284
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Jakovski Z, Ajanovska RJ, Stankov A, Pavlovski G, Poposka V, Marjanovic D. Comparative study of two dna extraction methods in different tissues and conditions of degradation. FORENSIC SCIENCE INTERNATIONAL GENETICS SUPPLEMENT SERIES 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.fsigss.2015.09.159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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7
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Mameli A, Piras G, Delogu G. The Successful Recovery of Low Copy Number and Degraded DNA from Bones Exposed to Seawater Suitable for Generating a DNA STR Profile. J Forensic Sci 2013; 59:470-3. [DOI: 10.1111/1556-4029.12323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2012] [Revised: 11/25/2012] [Accepted: 12/16/2012] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Alessandro Mameli
- Reparto Investigazioni Scientifiche Carabinieri di Cagliari; Piazza San Bartolomeo 29 09126 Cagliari Italy
| | - Gavino Piras
- Reparto Investigazioni Scientifiche Carabinieri di Cagliari; Piazza San Bartolomeo 29 09126 Cagliari Italy
| | - Giovanni Delogu
- Reparto Investigazioni Scientifiche Carabinieri di Cagliari; Piazza San Bartolomeo 29 09126 Cagliari Italy
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Delabarde T, Keyser C, Tracqui A, Charabidze D, Ludes B. The potential of forensic analysis on human bones found in riverine environment. Forensic Sci Int 2013; 228:e1-5. [DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2013.03.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2012] [Revised: 01/23/2013] [Accepted: 03/11/2013] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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The effect of an enzymatic bone processing method on short tandem repeat profiling of challenged bone specimens. Leg Med (Tokyo) 2013; 15:171-6. [PMID: 23384499 DOI: 10.1016/j.legalmed.2012.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2012] [Revised: 12/21/2012] [Accepted: 12/26/2012] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Forensic analysis of DNA from bone can be important in investigating a variety of cases involving violent crimes and mass fatality cases. To remove the potential presence of co-mingled remains and to eliminate contaminants that interfere with forensic DNA analysis, the outer surface of the bone fragment must be cleaned. This study evaluated two methods for processing bone specimens prior to DNA isolation. Mechanical sanding and enzymatic trypsin methods were compared in this study. The effects of these methods on the yield of DNA isolated and the quality of DNA analysis were studied. It was revealed that comparable values of DNA yields between the two methods were observed. Additionally, to evaluate the capabilities of the cleaning effect of the bone processing methods, the presence of polymerase chain reaction inhibitors in the DNA extracts was monitored using the internal positive control. Similar Ct values of the internal positive control were observed as the DNA extracts of the trypsin method compared with that of the sanding method. The characterization of the effects of the trypsin treatment on the quality of DNA profiling was also carried out. To evaluate the integrity of the nuclear DNA isolated, the percentage of allele calls and the peak-height values of alleles of the short tandem repeat profiles were compared between the two methods. A paired-sample t-test revealed no significant difference between the two methods. Our data suggested that the trypsin method can be used as an alternative cleaning method to mechanical cleaning methods. This method can be used to process multiple samples simultaneously. This can be very important for achieving high-throughput DNA isolation through potential automation, which can be extremely valuable for situations such as the forensic DNA analysis of skeletal remains from mass fatality incidents.
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Effective removal of co-purified inhibitors from extracted DNA samples using synchronous coefficient of drag alteration (SCODA) technology. Int J Legal Med 2012; 127:749-55. [DOI: 10.1007/s00414-012-0810-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2012] [Accepted: 12/05/2012] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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