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Evaluation of Commercial Kits for Dual Extraction of DNA and RNA from Human Body Fluids , ,
Author(s) -
Schweighardt Andrew J.,
Tate Courtney M.,
Scott Kristina A.,
Harper Kathryn A.,
Robertson James M.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of forensic sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.715
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1556-4029
pISSN - 0022-1198
DOI - 10.1111/1556-4029.12586
Subject(s) - rna , dna , body fluid , rna extraction , dna profiling , stain , blood stains , microbiology and biotechnology , messenger rna , biology , chemistry , gene , chromatography , biochemistry , genetics , medicine , staining , pathology
STR typing of DNA evidence can identify the donor with a high power of discrimination but cannot identify the tissue origin of a body‐fluid stain. Using RNA to attribute a crime scene stain to a particular tissue may aid in reconstruction efforts. With blood from 10 donors, four DNA and RNA coextraction kits were evaluated by measuring yields and STR and mRNA profiles. T tests indicated some significant differences in kit performance. The Zymo Research ZR‐Duet ™ kit performed best based on average DNA (41.4 ng) and mRNA (4.07 ng) yields and was the only kit to provide complete DNA/RNA profiles for all samples. The consistency of this kit was challenged by data from additional blood and saliva donors. Further testing is advised before a superior kit is unequivocally chosen. Stand‐alone DNA or RNA purification generally offers higher yield, but coextraction may still allow successful STR profiling and tissue source identification.