SNP Markers as Additional Information to Resolve Complex Kinship Cases.

Abstract

DNA profiling with sets of highly polymorphic autosomal short tandem repeat (STR) markers has been applied in various aspects of human identification in forensic casework for nearly 20 years. However, in some cases of complex kinship investigation, the information provided by the conventionally used STR markers is not enough, often resulting in low likelihood ratio (LR) calculations. In these cases, it becomes necessary to increment the number of loci under analysis to reach adequate LRs. Recently, it has been proposed that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) could be used as a supportive tool to STR typing, eventually even replacing the methods/markers now employed.