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5 - DNA Analysis and Interpretation: Single-Source Samples and Simple Mixtures

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2022

Suzanne Bell  and
John M. Butler
Suzanne Bell
Affiliation:
West Virginia University
John M. Butler
Affiliation:
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg, MD
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Summary

The last chapter discussed how peaks in an instrument output are converted into a DNA profile and how the random match probability is calculated using the product rule. Now we delve into how these profiles are analyzed and interpreted. Once a DNA profile has been developed from crime-scene evidence, it is compared to the profile(s) from known reference samples. These include elimination samples and samples from a person or persons of interest. If these comparisons do not provide helpful information, the profile can be submitted to a DNA database to search for investigative leads. Our focus is on DNA samples from a single person or simple mixtures such as a well-separated sample from a sexual assault case. Complex and low-level mixtures are much more challenging. We tackle those in the next chapter using the foundation we will build in this one.

Keywords

allele drop-outstutterelectropherograminterpreation thresholdmissing peaksDNA databaseslikelihood ratios
Type
Chapter
Information
Understanding Forensic DNA , pp. 74 - 92
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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