Assessing a novel room temperature DNA storage medium for forensic biological samples

Lee, Steven B.; Clabaugh, Kimberly C.; Silva, Brie; Odigie, Kingsley O.; Coble, Michael D.; Loreille, Odile; Scheible, Melissa; Fourney, Ron M.; Stevens, Jesse; Carmody, George R.; Parsons, Thomas J.; Pozder, Arijana; Eisenberg, Arthur J.; Budowle, Bruce; Ahmad, Taha; Miller, Russell W.; Crouse, Cecelia A.

doi:10.1016/j.fsigen.2011.01.008

« Previous Next »Forensic Science International: Genetics
Volume 6, Issue 1 , Pages 31-40, January 2012

Assessing a novel room temperature DNA storage medium for forensic biological samples

Steven B. Lee
- Forensic Science Program, Justice Studies Department, MacQuarrie Hall 521, San Jose State University, San Jose, CA 95192, United States
- Corresponding author. Tel.: +00 1 408 924 2948; fax: +00 1 408 924 2953.
Kimberly C. Clabaugh
- Forensic Science Program, Justice Studies Department, MacQuarrie Hall 521, San Jose State University, San Jose, CA 95192, United States
Brie Silva
- Forensic Science Program, Justice Studies Department, MacQuarrie Hall 521, San Jose State University, San Jose, CA 95192, United States
Kingsley O. Odigie
- Forensic Science Program, Justice Studies Department, MacQuarrie Hall 521, San Jose State University, San Jose, CA 95192, United States
Michael D. Coble
- Research Section, Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, 1413 Research Blvd., Bldg 101, Rockville, MD 20850, United States
- Current address: Applied Genetics Group, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, United States.
Odile Loreille
- Research Section, Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, 1413 Research Blvd., Bldg 101, Rockville, MD 20850, United States
Melissa Scheible
- Research Section, Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, 1413 Research Blvd., Bldg 101, Rockville, MD 20850, United States
Ron M. Fourney
- Biology Research and Development, Central Forensic Laboratory, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1G 3M8
Jesse Stevens
- Biology Research and Development, Central Forensic Laboratory, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1G 3M8
George R. Carmody
- Department of Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1S 5B6
Thomas J. Parsons
- Forensic Sciences Division, International Commission on Missing Persons, Alipašina 45a, 71000 Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Arijana Pozder
- Forensic Sciences Division, International Commission on Missing Persons, Alipašina 45a, 71000 Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Arthur J. Eisenberg
- Forensic and Investigative Genetics and Institute of Investigative Genetics, University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth 3500 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth, TX 76107, United States
Bruce Budowle
- Forensic and Investigative Genetics and Institute of Investigative Genetics, University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth 3500 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth, TX 76107, United States
Taha Ahmad
- Marshall University, One John Marshall Drive, Huntington, WV 25755, United States
Russell W. Miller
- Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, 3228 Gun Club Road, West Palm Beach, FL 33406, United States
Cecelia A. Crouse
- Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, 3228 Gun Club Road, West Palm Beach, FL 33406, United States

Received 15 November 2009; received in revised form 21 December 2010; accepted 17 January 2011. published online 16 February 2011.

Abstract

The ability to properly collect, analyze and preserve biological stains is important to preserving the integrity of forensic evidence. Stabilization of intact biological evidence in cells and the DNA extracts from them is particularly important since testing is generally not performed immediately following collection. Furthermore, retesting of stored DNA samples may be needed in casework for replicate testing, confirmation of results, and to accommodate future testing with new technologies.

A novel room temperature DNA storage medium, SampleMatrix™ (SM; Biomatrica, Inc., San Diego, CA), was evaluated for stabilizing and protecting samples. Human genomic DNA samples at varying amounts (0.0625–200ng) were stored dry in SM for 1 day to 1 year under varying conditions that included a typical ambient laboratory environment and also through successive freeze–thaw cycles (3 cycles). In addition, spiking of 1–4× SM into samples prior to analysis was performed to determine any inhibitory effects of SM. Quantification of recovered DNA following storage was determined by quantitative PCR or by agarose gel electrophoresis, and evaluation of quantitative peak height results from multiplex short tandem repeat (STR) analyses were performed to assess the efficacy of SM for preserving DNA.

Results indicate no substantial differences between the quality of samples stored frozen in liquid and those samples maintained dry at ambient temperatures protected in SM. For long-term storage and the storage of low concentration samples, SM provided a significant advantage over freezer storage through higher DNA recovery. No detectable inhibition of amplification was observed at the recommended SM concentration and complete profiles were obtained from genomic DNA samples even in the presence of higher than recommended concentrations of the SM storage medium. The ability to stabilize and protect DNA from degradation at ambient temperatures for extended time periods could have tremendous impact in simplifying and improving sample storage conditions and requirements. The current work focuses on forensics analysis; however this technology is applicable to all endeavors requiring storage of DNA.

Keywords: DNA storage, DNA recovery, Short tandem repeat analysis, Freeze–thaw, Trehalose, SampleMatrix, QIAsafe, DNA stability