Family ties: the use of DNA offender databases to catch offenders' kin

Racial Differences in Perceptions of Genetic Wellness Programs

PURPOSE

Genetic wellness programs (GWPs) are a highly innovative workforce wellness product. Recently marketed to U.S. employers by at least 16 vendors, GWPs take advantage of low-cost DNA sequencing to detect genetic risk factors for an increasing array of diseases. The purpose of this research is to understand perceptions, concerns, and barriers related to GWPs, among employees from Black, White, and Asian backgrounds and different income levels.

APPROACH

Qualitative study with 3 focus groups (FGs).

SETTING

Employees of large high-technology companies (deemed likely early GWP adopters).

RESPONDENTS

21 individuals recruited online through User Interviews.

METHOD

FG guide developed via literature review and landscape analysis, and pre-tested. FGs led by a trained moderator and audio-recorded. Transcripts content analyzed for key themes.

RESULTS

Nearly all respondents saw potential benefits to GWP participation for themselves or their families. However, there were profound differences in perceptions of risks to GWP participation between Black and White/Asian respondents. These differences surfaced in three broad areas: privacy and discrimination risks; family impact risks; and feelings about the employer. Willingness to participate in a GWP also varied between Black employee respondents and White and Asian employee respondents (including low-income White employees). Only 27% of Black employees would participate in GWP, compared to 90% of the other employees.

CONCLUSION

Most employees appear likely to support employer adoption of GWPs. However, Black employees report significant concerns regarding participation. Addressing these concerns through program design would benefit all employees, and could increase trust and uptake of GWPs.

Genealogy: The Tree Where History Meets Genetics

Although biological relationships are a universal reality for all human beings, the concepts of “family” and “family bond” depend on both the geographic region and the historical moment to which they refer. However, the concept of “family” can be determinant in a large variety of societies, since it can influence the lines of succession, inheritances and social relationships, as well as where and with whom an individual is buried. The relation between a deceased person and other members of a community, other individuals of the same necropolis, or even with those who are buried in the same tomb can be analysed from the genetic point of view, considering different perspectives: archaeological, historical, and forensic. In the present work, the concepts of “family” and “kinship” are discussed, explaining the relevance of genetic analysis, such as nuclear and lineage markers, and their contribution to genealogical research, for example in the heritage of surnames and Y-chromosome, as well as those cases where some discrepancies with historical record are detected, such as cases of adoption. Finally, we explain how genetic genealogical analyses can help to solve some cold cases, through the analysis of biologically related relatives.

Familial DNA analysis and criminal investigation: Usage, downsides and privacy concerns

Since the discovery of Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) capability in forensic investigation, it has been an important part of the criminal justice system. In most criminal cases DNA profile originating from evidence sample collected from the crime scene is compared with the DNA profile from the reference sample. However, when a reference sample is not available for comparison, familial DNA analysis can provide important investigation leads in a criminal investigation process by identifying an individual. Moreover, this analysis is also proving effective in the identification of ethnicity and ancestry of an individual. A number of different methodologies and software are being used for familial DNA analysis. This review describes the importance of familial DNA analysis, methodologies used for familial DNA searching and identification, and its advantages in forensic. Moreover, ethical, legal and social issues associated with familial DNA analysis have also been discussed along with future directions for the proper implementation of this technology.

Human-Genetic Ancestry Inference and False Positives in Forensic Familial Searching

In forensic familial search methods, a query DNA profile is tested against a database to determine if the query profile represents a close relative of a database entrant. One challenge for familial search is that the calculations may require specification of allele frequencies for the unknown population from which the query profile has originated. The choice of allele frequencies affects the rate at which non-relatives are erroneously classified as relatives, and allele-frequency misspecification can substantially inflate false positive rates compared to use of allele frequencies drawn from the same population as the query profile. Here, we use ancestry inference on the query profile to circumvent the high false positive rates that result from highly misspecified allele frequencies. In particular, we perform ancestry inference on the query profile and make use of allele frequencies based on its inferred genetic ancestry. In a test for sibling matches on profiles that represent unrelated individuals, we demonstrate that false positive rates for familial search with use of ancestry inference to specify the allele frequencies are similar to those seen when allele frequencies align with the population of origin of a profile. Because ancestry inference is possible to perform on query profiles, the extreme allele-frequency misspecifications that produce the highest false positive rates can be avoided. We discuss the implications of the results in the context of concerns about the forensic use of familial searching.

Statistical Detection of Relatives Typed with Disjoint Forensic and Biomedical Loci

In familial searching in forensic genetics, a query DNA profile is tested against a database to determine whether it represents a relative of a database entrant. We examine the potential for using linkage disequilibrium to identify pairs of profiles as belonging to relatives when the query and database rely on nonoverlapping genetic markers. Considering data on individuals genotyped with both microsatellites used in forensic applications and genome-wide SNPs, we find that ∼30%-32% of parent-offspring pairs and ∼35%-36% of sib pairs can be identified from the SNPs of one member of the pair and the microsatellites of the other. The method suggests the possibility of performing familial searches of microsatellite databases using query SNP profiles, or vice versa. It also reveals that privacy concerns arising from computations across multiple databases that share no genetic markers in common entail risks, not only for database entrants, but for their close relatives as well.

Genetic Diversity and Societally Important Disparities

The magnitude of genetic diversity within human populations varies in a way that reflects the sequence of migrations by which people spread throughout the world. Beyond its use in human evolutionary genetics, worldwide variation in genetic diversity sometimes can interact with social processes to produce differences among populations in their relationship to modern societal problems. We review the consequences of genetic diversity differences in the settings of familial identification in forensic genetic testing, match probabilities in bone marrow transplantation, and representation in genome-wide association studies of disease. In each of these three cases, the contribution of genetic diversity to social differences follows from population-genetic principles. For a fourth setting that is not similarly grounded, we reanalyze with expanded genetic data a report that genetic diversity differences influence global patterns of human economic development, finding no support for the claim. The four examples describe a limit to the importance of genetic diversity for explaining societal differences while illustrating a distinction that certain biologically based scenarios do require consideration of genetic diversity for solving problems to which populations have been differentially predisposed by the unique history of human migrations.

Privacy in the Genomic Era

Genome sequencing technology has advanced at a rapid pace and it is now possible to generate highly-detailed genotypes inexpensively. The collection and analysis of such data has the potential to support various applications, including personalized medical services. While the benefits of the genomics revolution are trumpeted by the biomedical community, the increased availability of such data has major implications for personal privacy; notably because the genome has certain essential features, which include (but are not limited to) (i) an association with traits and certain diseases, (ii) identification capability (e.g., forensics), and (iii) revelation of family relationships. Moreover, direct-to-consumer DNA testing increases the likelihood that genome data will be made available in less regulated environments, such as the Internet and for-profit companies. The problem of genome data privacy thus resides at the crossroads of computer science, medicine, and public policy. While the computer scientists have addressed data privacy for various data types, there has been less attention dedicated to genomic data. Thus, the goal of this paper is to provide a systematization of knowledge for the computer science community. In doing so, we address some of the (sometimes erroneous) beliefs of this field and we report on a survey we conducted about genome data privacy with biomedical specialists. Then, after characterizing the genome privacy problem, we review the state-of-the-art regarding privacy attacks on genomic data and strategies for mitigating such attacks, as well as contextualizing these attacks from the perspective of medicine and public policy. This paper concludes with an enumeration of the challenges for genome data privacy and presents a framework to systematize the analysis of threats and the design of countermeasures as the field moves forward.

The first successful use of a low stringency familial match in a French criminal investigation

We describe how a very simple application of familial searching resolved a decade-old, high-profile rape/murder in France. This was the first use of familial searching in a criminal case using the French STR DNA database, which contains approximately 1,800,000 profiles. When an unknown forensic profile (18 loci) was searched against the French arrestee/offender database using CODIS configured for a low stringency search, a single low stringency match was identified. This profile was attributed to the father of the man suspected to be the source of the semen recovered from the murder victim Elodie Kulik. The identification was confirmed using Y-chromosome DNA from the putative father, an STR profile from the mother, and finally a tissue sample from the exhumed body of the man who left the semen. Because of this identification, the investigators are now pursuing possible co-conspirators.

Ethical, Legal and Social Issues Surrounding Research on Genetic Contributions to Anti-Social Behavior

Scientific study of genetic contributions to chronic antisocial behavior has stemmed from many lines of research in recent years. Genetic research involving twin, family, and adoption studies have traditionally been used to compare the health and behavior outcomes of individuals who share the same environment or hereditary lineage; several of these studies have concluded that heredity plays some role in the formation of chronic antisocial behavior, including various forms of aggression and chronic norm-defiance. However, the ethical, social, and legal environment surrounding research on the biological contributions to antisocial behavior in the United States is contentious. Although there has been some discussion in the last few decades regarding the ethical, social, and legal concerns around this type of research within academic and policy circles, analysis and discussion of these concerns rarely appear together. This paper explores the main themes that interact to form the basis of much of the resistance to positing biological contributions to antisocial behavior.

The influence of relatives on the efficiency and error rate of familial searching

We investigate the consequences of adopting the criteria used by the state of California, as described by Myers et al. (2011), for conducting familial searches. We carried out a simulation study of randomly generated profiles of related and unrelated individuals with 13-locus CODIS genotypes and YFiler® Y-chromosome haplotypes, on which the Myers protocol for relative identification was carried out. For Y-chromosome sharing first degree relatives, the Myers protocol has a high probability (80~99%) of identifying their relationship. For unrelated individuals, there is a low probability that an unrelated person in the database will be identified as a first-degree relative. For more distant Y-haplotype sharing relatives (half-siblings, first cousins, half-first cousins or second cousins) there is a substantial probability that the more distant relative will be incorrectly identified as a first-degree relative. For example, there is a 3~18% probability that a first cousin will be identified as a full sibling, with the probability depending on the population background. Although the California familial search policy is likely to identify a first degree relative if his profile is in the database, and it poses little risk of falsely identifying an unrelated individual in a database as a first-degree relative, there is a substantial risk of falsely identifying a more distant Y-haplotype sharing relative in the database as a first-degree relative, with the consequence that their immediate family may become the target for further investigation. This risk falls disproportionately on those ethnic groups that are currently overrepresented in state and federal databases.

Familial identification: population structure and relationship distinguishability

With the expansion of offender/arrestee DNA profile databases, genetic forensic identification has become commonplace in the United States criminal justice system. Implementation of familial searching has been proposed to extend forensic identification to family members of individuals with profiles in offender/arrestee DNA databases. In familial searching, a partial genetic profile match between a database entrant and a crime scene sample is used to implicate genetic relatives of the database entrant as potential sources of the crime scene sample. In addition to concerns regarding civil liberties, familial searching poses unanswered statistical questions. In this study, we define confidence intervals on estimated likelihood ratios for familial identification. Using these confidence intervals, we consider familial searching in a structured population. We show that relatives and unrelated individuals from population samples with lower gene diversity over the loci considered are less distinguishable. We also consider cases where the most appropriate population sample for individuals considered is unknown. We find that as a less appropriate population sample, and thus allele frequency distribution, is assumed, relatives and unrelated individuals become more difficult to distinguish. In addition, we show that relationship distinguishability increases with the number of markers considered, but decreases for more distant genetic familial relationships. All of these results indicate that caution is warranted in the application of familial searching in structured populations, such as in the United States.

Policy implications for familial searching

In the United States, several states have made policy decisions regarding whether and how to use familial searching of the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) database in criminal investigations. Familial searching pushes DNA typing beyond merely identifying individuals to detecting genetic relatedness, an application previously reserved for missing persons identifications and custody battles. The intentional search of CODIS for partial matches to an item of evidence offers law enforcement agencies a powerful tool for developing investigative leads, apprehending criminals, revitalizing cold cases and exonerating wrongfully convicted individuals. As familial searching involves a range of logistical, social, ethical and legal considerations, states are now grappling with policy options for implementing familial searching to balance crime fighting with its potential impact on society. When developing policies for familial searching, legislators should take into account the impact of familial searching on select populations and the need to minimize personal intrusion on relatives of individuals in the DNA database. This review describes the approaches used to narrow a suspect pool from a partial match search of CODIS and summarizes the economic, ethical, logistical and political challenges of implementing familial searching. We examine particular US state policies and the policy options adopted to address these issues. The aim of this review is to provide objective background information on the controversial approach of familial searching to inform policy decisions in this area. Herein we highlight key policy options and recommendations regarding effective utilization of familial searching that minimize harm to and afford maximum protection of US citizens.