Identification of remains by sequencing of mitochondrial DNA control region

The maternity of two newborns who were murdered and abandoned >5 and 10 years were analyzed by amplification and direct sequencing of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control regions. Sequences of two hypervariable segments from each femur bone sample and the blood of the putative mother showed four mutations in hypervariable region I and two mutations in addition to two nucleotide insertions in hypervariable region II compared with the reference sequence, and all sequences were identical. The genotype of these individuals is found to be relatively rare in the Japanese population, and it was strongly suggested that both sets of newborn remains really were children of the putative mother. Sexes of the remains were determined to be female and male by amplifying a segment of the X-Y homologous gene, amelogenin. These results demonstrate that sequencing of mtDNA is a useful tool for genetic identification of aged and decomposed materials.