A 34-plex autosomal SNP single base extension assay for ancestry investigations

Ancestry inference based on autosomal markers remains a niche approach in forensic analysis: most laboratories feel more secure with a review of the cumulative STR profile frequencies in a range of relevant populations with the possible additional analysis of mitochondrial and/or Y-chromosome variability. However, a proportion of autosomal single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) show very well-differentiated allele frequencies among global population-groups. Furthermore, such ancestry informative marker SNPs (AIM-SNPs) lend themselves to relatively straightforward typing with short-amplicon PCR and multiplexed single base extension reactions using the same capillary electrophoresis detectors required for the sequencing and STR genotyping of mainstream forensic markers. In this chapter, we describe a 34 AIM-SNP multiplex that is robust enough for the analysis of challenging, often highly degraded DNA typical of much of routine forensic casework. We also outline in detail the in-silico procedures necessary for collecting parental population reference data from the SPSmart SNP databases and performing ancestry inference of single AIM-SNP profiles or large-scale population data using the companion ancestry analysis website of Snipper. Two casework examples are described that show, in both cases, that an inference of likely ancestry using AIM-SNPs helped the identification of highly degraded skeletal material.