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Nails as a primary sample type for molecular genetic identification of highly decomposed human remains

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Abstract

For identification of badly preserved cadavers, only a few tissues can be used as a source of DNA, mostly bones and teeth, from which sampling and DNA extraction are difficult and time-consuming. In most highly decomposed remains, the nails are preserved. The aim of this study was to evaluate nails as an alternative source of DNA instead of bones and teeth in demanding routine identification cases. An automated extraction method was optimized on nails obtained from 33 cadavers with a post-mortem interval (PMI) up to 5 years. The commercially available EZ1 Investigator Kit (Qiagen) was used for extraction, and the G2 buffer included in the kit was replaced with TNCa buffer, and DTT was added for digestion of 5 mg of nail. The DNA was purified in a Biorobot EZ1 device (Qiagen), quantified using the PowerQuant System (Promega), and STR typing was performed with the NGM kit (TFS). From 0.3 to 270 μg DNA/g of nail was obtained from the samples analyzed, with an average yield of 36 μg DNA/g of nail. Full STR profiles were obtained from all nails except one. The optimized extraction method proved to be fast and highly efficient in the removal of PCR inhibitors, and it yields high amounts of DNA for successful STR typing. Nails were implemented as the primary sample type for obtaining DNA from highly decomposed and partially skeletonized cadavers in routine forensic identification cases in our laboratory.

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Funding

This study was partially financially supported by the Slovenian Research Agency (project “Determination of the most appropriate skeletal elements for molecular genetic identification of aged human remains” J3-8214).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Korytkova 2, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia

    Jezerka Inkret, Tomaž Zupanc & Irena Zupanič Pajnič

  2. Faculty of Tourism Studies - Turistica, University of Primorska, Portorož, Slovenia

    Eva Podovšovnik

Authors
  1. Jezerka Inkret
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  2. Eva Podovšovnik
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  3. Tomaž Zupanc
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  4. Irena Zupanič Pajnič
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Irena Zupanič Pajnič.

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Ethical standards

The research project was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of the Republic of Slovenia (KME 0120-55/2020/4).

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Highlights

• Nails from 33 routine cases with PMI up to 5 years were used for human identification of highly decomposed cadavers.

• Automated EZ1 DNA extraction method (Qiagen) was optimized using TNCa buffer.

• Full STR profiles were obtained from all except one nail sample.

• Location where the body was found and PMI have no statistically significant influence on the amount of extracted DNA and DNA degradation.

• Nails were implemented as the primary sample type for genetic identification of highly decomposed remains in routine forensic casework.

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Inkret, J., Podovšovnik, E., Zupanc, T. et al. Nails as a primary sample type for molecular genetic identification of highly decomposed human remains. Int J Legal Med 134, 1629–1638 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-020-02289-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-020-02289-x

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