The use of cytochrome b and ryanodine polymorphism to identify DNA of animal and human origin

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine a match between DNA recovered from evidence material, such as knocked down red deer, and from comparative material in form of two brown traces on the bonnet of a car driven by a person suspected of knocking down the animal. The spots coming from the car provided no DNA profile, which questioned that they originated from a red deer and ruled out performance of a comparative DNA analysis. For this reason, the material obtained from the blood smear was analyzed for species identification. The method applied can discriminate between cattle, red deer and roe deer based on restriction analysis (Tsp509I) of PCR product (195bp), obtained by amplifying a fragment of the cytochrome b coding gene. Because the obtained restriction profile confirmed the match with red deer DNA for one trace, and in the second case ruled out that the biological traces originated from the species mentioned above, the PCR products were subjected to sequencing. In both cases, 195bp PCR products that were 98% homologous with red deer DNA sequence-NC_007704.2-trace1 and with the gene coding for the human ryanodine receptor-NC_008799.2-trace2. The quantity and quality of DNA obtained from the traces collected from the car bonnet did not allow confirmation of the involvement of a specific animal in the event, but the applied method made it possible to determine the species from which the obtained traces originated. Furthermore, the applied method, which was used earlier to determine cervine DNA, was successfully used to detect human DNA.