Newborn genetic identification: a protocol using microsatellite DNA as an alternative to footprinting

Newborn identification by foot- or finger-printing presents serious drawbacks. This study proposes an alternative method based on DNA analysis of blood-spots taken from the newborn child. CSF1PO, TPOX and TH01 microsatellite loci were chosen to develop a fast and reliable protocol to be applied in cases where it is suspected that newborn children have been exchanged. The advantage of these loci is that one can simultaneously amplify them by PCR multiplex reaction and determine their alleles, thereby reducing the time needed for identification tests. Moreover, the amplification products of these loci are very small (< 350 bp) and so can be analyzed in samples with degraded DNA. We have been able to prove that it is possible to obtain results in blood-spots taken from newborns up to 13 years before and kept at room temperature. Thus the protocol proposed here can be applied in long-term post-natal identification cases.