Search

In this study we present two forensic cases where mitochondrial DNA HVS I and HVS II haplotypes of evidentiary hairs match reference samples. Based on the information retrieved from mtDNA coding region of reference material, we selected single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) located outside the HVS I and HVS II regions that could increase the informativeness of mtDNA analysis. The SNPs were typed via SNaPshot or dideoxy sequencing technology. In both cases the SNP results allowed for unambiguous exlusion of the evidence and for determining that reference samples originated from the same person.

The essence of anthropological typology is to classify people as belonging to anthropological types according to predetermined sets of morphological traits. The authors of the concept claim that traits characteristic of a given type are monogenic and have a Mendelian inheritance pattern. According to these assumptions, it is possible to unambiguously determine hair or eye color, etc. on the basis of scull characteristics only. Such a solution could be of a great importance in identification based on the skeleton but for the fact that the concept contradicts the current body of knowledge of population genetics or evolutionary biology analyses. It is widely known that the vast majority of morphological traits is determined by a complex of cooperating genes. Moreover, it has been demonstrated that genetic distances between populations are low, while most of the diversity is attributed to intrapopulation variation. Therefore, rejecting the classic concept of race seems to be justified. For this reason, today it is more reasonable to use the panel of SNP markers (AIMs) in identification of unknown individuals while aiming at prediction of their ethnic ancestry rather than to believe in the scientific value of anthropological typology.

In the last few years, one could observe an increased interest in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) as a result of their numerous applications in population genetics and forensic science. Continuous progress in molecular technologies together with an increasing body of phylogenetic knowledge, based mainly on complete mitochondrial genome sequencing, allows both for selection and accurate typing of many SNPs in mitochondrial DNA. Among the SNP typing techniques, due to its high sensitivity and promptness of determinations, minisequencing appears to be one of the fastest and most frequently applied methods in forensic laboratories. This review presents currently available minisequencing systems used for haplogroup assignment of mtDNA in European, East Asian and Native American populations.