ISSN: 0022-1198
CODEN: JFSCA
Page Count: 9

Extraction, Evaluation, and Amplification of DNA from Decalcified and Undecalcified United States Civil War Bone
Wilcox, AW
Curator and Anatomical Collections Manager, National Museum of Health and Medicine, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, DC

Fisher, DL
DNA Analyst, Research Scientist, and Chief, Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory, Office of the Armed Forces Medical Examiner, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, D.C.

Mitchell, L
Research Scientist, Institute of Mental Health, Neuroscience Center, National Institutes of Health, DC

Holland, MM
DNA Analyst, Research Scientist, and Chief, Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory, Office of the Armed Forces Medical Examiner, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, D.C.

Wadhams, M
Research Associate, Cellmark Diagnostics, MD

Sledzik, PS
Curator and Anatomical Collections Manager, National Museum of Health and Medicine, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, DC

Weedn, VW
DNA Analyst, Research Scientist, and Chief, Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory, Office of the Armed Forces Medical Examiner, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, D.C.

(Received 5 March 1992; accepted 11 May 1992)

Abstract

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) was extracted from documented skeletal specimens of U.S. Civil War soldiers to determine the need for decalcification prior to extraction. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed to determine if the calcification state had an effect on the ability to amplify the extracts and to determine how successful amplification would be with these aged specimens. Bone samples were pulverized to a fine powder and divided into two sets. One set of samples was decalcified and the other set left undecalcified. Both sets were extracted using an organic procedure. The results demonstrate that decalcification is not a necessary step in the extraction process and that the yield of DNA is generally two times greater when decalcification is omitted. Furthermore, the calcification state had no effect on the ability to perform the PCR. Although the extracted DNA was very degraded, a 410 base pair (bp) segment of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region was amplified. These results suggest that DNA can be extracted and amplified from 125 year old bone without decalcification, which may assist in the identity of modern and historic forensic specimens.

Keywords:
physical anthropology, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), human bone DNA, historical skeletal remains, forensic DNA typing, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)

Paper ID: JFS13376J
DOI: 10.1520/JFS13376J
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