Schury,N.;Schleenbecker,U.;Hellmann;A.P. Since the domestic cat (Felis catus) has become one of the most popular pets and owners usually develop a close relationship to their cats, it is necessary to take traces of cats into account for forensic casework. For this purpose feline short tandem (STR) repeat markers have been investigated in several earlier studies, but no detailed description of sequence data, allelic variations or a repeat-based nomenclature is available. The aim of the study was to provide a suggestion for the allele nomenclature of 14 cat STR markers according to the recommendations of the International Society for Forensic Genetics (ISFG) for human DNA typing and to present a standardized system for a secure DNA typing of samples. [Read More]

Hellmann,A.P.; Rohleder,U.; Eichmann,C.; Pfeiffer,I.; Parson,W.; Schleenbecker,U. In this study a proposal for the allele nomenclature of six polymorphic short tandem repeat (STR) loci (PEZ3, PEZ6, PEZ8, PEZ10, FHC2161, and FHC2328) for canine genotyping (Canis lupus familiaris) is presented. The nomenclature is based on the sequence data of the polymorphic region of the microsatellite markers as recommended by the DNA commission of the International Society of Forensic Haemogenetics (ISFH) in 1994 for human DNA typing. [Read More]

Eichmann,C.; Berger,B.; Parson,W. We performed a population study on 15 polymorphic STR loci (FH2010, FH2079, PEZ2, VWF.X, FH2054, FH2087Ub, FH2611, WILMS-TF, PEZ12, PEZ15, PEZ6, FH2087Ua, ZUBECA4, ZUBECA6, FH2132) on 131 randomly selected dogs. Alleles were identified and grouped according to their estimated fragment length using fixed allelic bins encompassing one base-pair. The allele assignment was confirmed by sequence analysis of homozygote and cloned heterozygote alleles. In order to develop a uniform repeat-based nomenclature, extensive sequence analysis was performed on a selection of alleles from each STR locus. [Read More]

Berger,C.; Berger,B.; Parson,W. The popularity of dogs as faithful human companions instigates forensically relevant issues on a regular basis. Domestic dogs take an active role as causers of accidents and as offenders of attacks; even more frequently dogs act as link between victim and suspect in a crime case due to the fact that dog holders live in an environment rich of canine material. Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA analyses of canine cells have been applied successfully in individual cases. [Read More]

Eichmann,C.; Berger,B.; Reinhold,M.; Lutz,M.; Parson,W Forensic investigations in dog attacks usually involve the examination of bite marks and toothprints, the dog’s stomach and pathological methods. For identification of the offending dog we evaluated canine STR typing of saliva traces on dog bite marks. The specificity of 15 canine-specific STRs was tested on human-canine DNA mixtures prior to an applied study in which 52 cases of dog bites were investigated. The first-aid wound bandages as well as swab samples from the surrounding area of the wound were used for DNA analyses. [Read More]