Title

Forensic discrimination of vaginal epithelia by DNA methylation analysis through pyrosequencing

Authors

Joana Antunes, Florida International University
Deborah S. B. S. Silva, Florida International University; PURCRS, Porto Alegre, Brazil
Kuppareddi Balamurugan, The University of Southern Mississippi
George Duncan, Broward County Sheriff's Office Crime LaboratoryFollow
Clarice S. Alho, PURCRS, Porto Alegre, Brazil
Bruce McCord, Florida International University

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-2-2016

Publication Title

Electrophoresis

Keywords

DNA methylation, Epigenetics, Forensic Science, Pyrosequencing, Vaginal epithelia

ISSN

1522-2683

Volume

37

First Page

2751

Last Page

2758

Abstract

The accurate identification of body fluids from crime scenes can aid in the discrimination between criminal and innocent intent. This research aimed to determine if the levels of DNA methylation in the locus PFN3A could be used to discriminate vaginal epithelia from other body fluids. In this work we bisulfite-modified and amplified DNA samples from blood, saliva, semen, and vaginal epithelia using primers for PFN3A. Through pyrosequencing we were able to show that vaginal epithelia present distinct methylation levels when compared to other body fluids. Mixtures of different body fluids present methylation values that correlate with single-source body fluid samples and the primers for PFN3A are specific for primates. This report successfully demonstrated that the analysis of methylation in the PFN3A locus can be used for vaginal epithelia discrimination in forensic samples.

NSUWorks Citation

Antunes, Joana; Deborah S. B. S. Silva; Kuppareddi Balamurugan; George Duncan; Clarice S. Alho; and Bruce McCord. 2016. "Forensic discrimination of vaginal epithelia by DNA methylation analysis through pyrosequencing." Electrophoresis 37, (): 2751-2758. doi:10.1002/elps.201600037.

DOI

10.1002/elps.201600037