Development of a novel multiplex polymerase chain reaction system for forensic individual identification using...

Area of Science:

• Forensic Science
• Population Genetics
• Molecular Biology

Background:

• Insertion/deletion (InDel) polymorphisms are valuable genetic markers due to low mutation rates and wide genome distribution.
• Existing InDel panels may lack sufficient discrimination power for specific populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a novel multiplex PCR-InDel panel for enhanced forensic individual identification.
• To assess the genetic diversity and forensic efficiency of 35 InDels in Chinese and Kazak populations.

Main Methods:

• Selection and construction of a multiplex PCR-InDel panel.
• Analysis of genetic distributions and forensic parameters in five East Asian populations and a Kazak group.
• Evaluation of forensic efficiency, including polymorphism information content and cumulative power of discrimination.

Main Results:

• Low genetic differentiation was observed among the five East Asian reference populations.
• The 35 InDels demonstrated high forensic efficiency for individual identification.
• In the Kazak group, the mean polymorphism information content was 0.3611, and the cumulative power of discrimination reached 0.99999999999999603.

Conclusions:

• The developed multiplex PCR-InDel panel is highly effective for forensic individual identification.
• The panel is suitable for application in the studied Kazak and other East Asian populations.
• This research contributes valuable genetic markers for forensic investigations in the region.