Developmental validation of the HomyGene19+14Y System

The HomyGene19+14Y System (HG19+14Y) is a PCR-based amplification kit that enables typing of 18 autosomal short tandem repeat (STR) loci (i.e., CSF1PO, D2S1338, D3S1358, D5S818, D6S1043, D7S820, D8S1179, D12S391, D13S317, D16S539, D18S51, D19S433, D21S11, FGA, Penta E, TPOX, TH01, vWA), 14 widely used Y chromosome STR (Y-STR) loci (Y_GATA_H4, DYS385a/b, DYS389I/II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, DYS393, DYS438, DYS439, DYS456, DYS458, DYS635), and amelogenin. This multiplex system was designed for the simultaneous analysis of amelogenin-Y allele mutation, single-source searches, kinship (including familial searching), mixture profiles, international data sharing, and other forensic applications. In this study, the multiplex system was validated for sensitivity, specificity, DNA mixtures, stability, precision, stutter, reproducibility, parallel tests, PCR-based conditions, and population analysis according to the Scientific Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods (SWGDAM) developmental validation guidelines. A total of 212 alleles were detected for the 18 autosomal STR loci among 528 Guangdong Han individuals, and 431 haplotypes were found for 14 Y-STRs among 452 unrelated males. The combined match probability (CMP) of the HG19+14Y System was calculated as 2.39 × 10^-29. All the validation results showed that the HG19+14Y System would be a robust, reliable, highly polymorphic, and informative forensic kit.