ISSN: 0022-1198
Published Online: 5 January 2005
Page Count: 12

A PCR Multiplex and Database for Forensic DNA Identification of Dogs
Basten, C
Bioinformatics Research Center, North Carolina State University, NC

Halverson, J
QuestGen Forensics, CA

(Received 18 May 2004; accepted 2 October 2004)

Abstract

Animal-derived trace evidence is a common finding at crime scenes and may provide an important link between victim(s) and suspect(s). A database of 558 dogs of pure and mixed breeds is described and analyzed with two PCR multiplexes of 17 microsatellites. Summary statistics (number of alleles, expected and observed heterozygosity and power of exclusion) are compared between breeds. Marked population substructure in dog breeds indicates significant inbreeding, and the use of a conservative Θ value is recommended in likelihood calculations for determining the significance of a DNA match. Evidence is presented that the informativeness of the canine microsatellites, despite inbreeding, is comparable to the human CODIS loci. Two cases utilizing canine DNA typing, State of Washington v. Kenneth Leuluaialii and George Tuilefano and Crown v. Daniel McGowan, illustrate the potential of canine microsatellite markers for forensic investigations.

Keywords:
forensic science, canine, DNA typing, polymerase chain reaction, microsatellites, STR, database, likelihood ratio, CODIS

Paper ID: JFS2004207
DOI: 10.1520/JFS2004207
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