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6 - The Curse of Sensitivity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2022

Suzanne Bell  and
John M. Butler
Suzanne Bell
Affiliation:
West Virginia University
John M. Butler
Affiliation:
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg, MD
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Summary

The last chapter outlined the basic concepts of mixture analysis. Now we move on to the much more challenging situations arising from low-level DNA samples and complex mixtures. These topics go together. Early DNA methods such as RFLP and initial PCR methods were less sensitive (which means they were unable to detect very small quantities of DNA) than today’s techniques. As a result, DNA present in tiny quantities was not seen. Now the technologies afford much better detection, which is a mixed blessing. Rather than simply detecting the DNA from the major contributor(s), now trace levels of DNA can be recovered and typed, and not all of it is pertinent to the crime under investigation. Very small amounts of DNA, much less than in typical samples, are referred to as low copy number (LCN) DNA.

Low copy number and complex mixtures are related.

Keywords

low copy number (LCN)stochastic effectsdegraded DNAtransfer/touch DNAshedderscontaminationAmanda Knox case
Type
Chapter
Information
Understanding Forensic DNA , pp. 93 - 108
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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