Real-time PCR method for identification of Asian populations in forensic casework

The priorities for mass disaster victim identification are rapid investigation turn-around time and low cost. We describe a DNA typing procedure to selectively identify members of Asian populations by a real-time PCR method using polymorphisms of the alpha2 chain of the type I collagen gene (COL1A2) and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Among the 50 members of the Asian population included in the present study, 37 harbored a deleted allele in intron 33 of COL1A2 (26822-26823del) or the 10400C>T substitution mutation in mtDNA to give a probability of 0.740 for these SNPs in the Asian population.