Abstract
The collection of biological debris beneath fingernails can be useful in forensic casework when a struggle between the victim and the offender is suspected. In the present study, we set up a controlled scratching experiment in which female volunteers scratched the male volunteers’ forearms, simulating a defensive action during an assault. A total of 160 fingernail samples were collected: 80 “control samples” before the scratching, 40 samples immediately after the scratching (t = 0 h), and 40 samples 5 h after the scratching (t = 5 h). The aim was to evaluate, using a real-time PCR approach and Y-STR profiling, the transfer and the persistence of male DNA under female fingernails after scratching. A significant reduction in DNA yield was observed between fingernail samples collected immediately and those collected 5 h after scratching, with a corresponding decrease in Y-STR profile quality. Overall, 38/40 (95%) of the fingernail samples collected immediately (t = 0 h) and 24/40 (60%) of those collected 5 h later (t = 5 h) were suitable for comparison and the scratched male volunteers could not be excluded as donors of the foreign DNA from 37 (92.5%) of the t = 0 h and from 10 (25%) of the t = 5 h profiles. The analysis of male DNA under female fingernails showed that Y-chromosome STR typing may provide extremely valuable genetic information of the male contributor(s), although 5 h after scratching the profile of the scratched male was lost in three-quarters of samples.
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The authors would like to thank all volunteers who participated to the scratching study.
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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in this study with the ethical approval of the Bioethical Committee of the University of Bologna, Italy.
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Iuvaro, A., Bini, C., Dilloo, S. et al. Male DNA under female fingernails after scratching: transfer and persistence evaluation by RT-PCR analysis and Y-STR typing. Int J Legal Med 132, 1603–1609 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-018-1839-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-018-1839-z