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Body fluid identification using a targeted mRNA massively parallel sequencing approach - results of a

S Ingold1, G Dørum1, E Hanson2

  • 1Zurich Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Zurich, Switzerland.

Forensic Science International. Genetics
|February 18, 2018
PubMed

Insights

Targeted mRNA sequencing effectively identifies human body fluids like blood and semen. This forensic massively parallel sequencing (MPS) method shows reliable results across multiple laboratories.

Area of Science:

  • Forensic Science
  • Molecular Biology
  • Genomics

Background:

  • Previous research developed targeted mRNA sequencing assays for human body fluid identification.
  • Assays were optimized for Illumina MiSeq/FGx and Ion Torrent PGM/S5 platforms.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the efficacy of targeted mRNA sequencing for identifying human body fluids.
  • To assess inter-laboratory reproducibility and reliability of the method.

Main Methods:

  • A collaborative exercise involving 17 laboratories using provided dried body fluid stains.
  • Analysis of 33 (Illumina) and 29 (Ion Torrent) body fluid-specific mRNA targets.
  • Partial least squares (PLS) analysis for data interpretation.

Main Results:

  • Moderate to high mRNA read counts were observed for target body fluids, with minimal counts for non-targets.
  • Results showed good comparability across laboratories, with marker expression correlating to read counts.
  • PLS analysis demonstrated clear clustering for blood, menstrual blood, saliva, and semen samples.

Conclusions:

  • Targeted mRNA sequencing is a reliable method for forensic body fluid identification.
  • The method shows potential for inclusion in forensic massively parallel sequencing (MPS) panels.
  • Collaborative exercises confirm the robustness and applicability of mRNA sequencing in forensic settings.
Keywords:
Body fluid identificationForensic scienceMassively parallel sequencingmRNA profiling

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