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A proposed nomenclature for 15 canine-specific polymorphic STR loci for forensic purposes

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Abstract

We performed a population study on 15 polymorphic STR loci (FH2010, FH2079, PEZ2, VWF.X, FH2054, FH2087Ub, FH2611, WILMS-TF, PEZ12, PEZ15, PEZ6, FH2087Ua, ZUBECA4, ZUBECA6, FH2132) on 131 randomly selected dogs. Alleles were identified and grouped according to their estimated fragment length using fixed allelic bins encompassing one base-pair. The allele assignment was confirmed by sequence analysis of homozygote and cloned heterozygote alleles. In order to develop a uniform repeat-based nomenclature, extensive sequence analysis was performed on a selection of alleles from each STR locus. The proposed nomenclature refers to the internationally recognised recommendations for human-specific STR loci in forensic applications. The 15 canine-specific STR loci were grouped into 3 classes (simple STRs, compound STRs and complex/hypervariable STRs) according to their complexity and variability within the repeat structure. Finally, we evaluated the precision of fragment size estimation on a capillary electrophoresis platform and demonstrated reproducibility of fragment length estimation for single base-pair intermediate alleles.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Mag. vet. med. Volker Büchele, Helena and Paul Scheithauer for bravely collecting the samples. Harald Niederstaetter is kindly acknowledged for valuable discussion.

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  1. Institute of Legal Medicine, University of Innsbruck, Müllerstrasse 44, 6020 , Innsbruck, Austria

    C. Eichmann, B. Berger & W. Parson

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  1. C. Eichmann
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  2. B. Berger
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  3. W. Parson
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Correspondence to W. Parson.

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Eichmann, C., Berger, B. & Parson, W. A proposed nomenclature for 15 canine-specific polymorphic STR loci for forensic purposes. Int J Legal Med 118, 249–266 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-004-0452-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-004-0452-5

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