Genome-wide mRNA profiling and multiplex quantitative RT-PCR for forensic body fluid identification

In forensic science, identifying a tissue where a forensic specimen was originated is one of the principal challenges. Messenger RNA (mRNA) profile clearly reveals tissue-specific gene expression patterns that many attempts have been made to use RNA for forensic tissue identification. To systematically investigate the body-fluid-specific expression of mRNAs and find novel mRNA markers for forensic body fluid identification, we performed DNA microarray experiment with 24 Korean body fluid samples. Shannon entropy and Q-values were calculated for each gene, and 137 body-fluid-specific candidate genes were selected. By applying more stringent criteria, we further selected 28 candidate genes and validated them by RT-PCR and qRT-PCR. As a result, we suggest a novel combination of four body-fluid-specific mRNA makers: PPBP for blood, FDCSP for saliva, MSMB for semen and MSLN for vaginal secretion. Multiplex qRT-PCR assay was designed using the four mRNA markers and DNA/RNA co-extraction method was tested for forensic use. This study will provide a thorough examination of body-fluid-specifically expressed mRNAs, which will enlarge the possibility of practical use of RNA for forensic purpose.