Forensic Ancestry Analysis with Autosomal Polymorphisms

Abstract

The inference of ancestry from biological material left at a crimescene has been a longstanding but specialised forensic technique, often lacking sufficient detail to make a reliable inference of ancestr y. This thesis describes the key steps in developing a forensic ancestry test that can be adopted by any laboratory using capillary electrophoresis equipment: optimisation of a PCR multiplex to detect DNA markers from contact traces; compilation of population data from which to infer the likely pop ulation of origin of the person; detection of coancestry patterns in an individual with admixed backgr ounds; and development of online statistical tools that calculate the probability of an individual’s an cestry from a submitted SNP profile. Additional types of autosomal markers were compiled from Ind el polymorphisms; short tandem repeats (STRs); multiple allele SNPs; and Microhaplotype markers.