Abstract
A voluntary collaborative exercise aiming at the mitochondrial analysis of canine
biological samples was carried out in 2006–2008 by the Non-Human Forensic Genetics
Commission of the Spanish and Portuguese Working Group (GEP) of the International
Society for Forensic Genetics (ISFG). The participating laboratories were asked to
sequence two dog samples (one bloodstain and one hair sample) for the mitochondrial
D-loop region comprised between positions 15,372 and 16,083 using suggested primers
and PCR conditions, and to compare their results against a reference sequence. Twenty-one
participating laboratories reported a total of 67.5% concordant results, 15% non-concordant
results, and 17.5% no results. The hair sample analysis presented more difficulty
to the participants than the bloodstain analysis, with a high percentage (29%) failing
to obtain a result. The high level of participation showed the interest of the community
in the analysis of dog forensic samples but the results reveal that crucial methodological
issues need to be addressed and further training is required in order to respond proficiently
to the demands of forensic casework.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: May 21, 2009
Accepted:
April 20,
2009
Received in revised form:
April 20,
2009
Received:
February 16,
2009
Identification
Copyright
© 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
