ASSESSMENT OF ADMISSIBILITY OF DNA PROFILING IN INDIAN LEGAL SYSTEM

DNA profiling has very important place in administration of Justice. It resolves many issues in criminal trial as well as civil suits.We can’t close our eyes and go through the conventional method of investigation. The crime has changed it face and to detect the new changed face crime, new modern technique must be inserted in the investigation. The object is not to prove everyone offender but to find the truth that now a days can be discovered by availing the service of new modern forensic science technique. The DNA is in every human being and identified at molecular level. The DNA is unique and cannot be equal in two or more persons and that is why it is very important in criminal investigation. It helps in identifying person by a small drop of blood particularly in the cases of rape, murder and sexual assault. The admissibility is sometime challenged by the defense counsel regarding reliability and relevancy to the case. The Court has to use discretionary power to accept it or not. Foreign courts in the various countries have also given due importance to the admissibility of DNA in the evidence. Its need of the time to insert the evidence procured by such forensic technique in Administration of Justice.

Retinoblastoma discordance in families with twins

Retinoblastoma has an increased inheritance risk of germline RB1 mutations in offspring and siblings, especially twins. Three families, each having one retinoblastoma-affected twin, were selected for genetic analysis and DNA profiling. Germline RB1 mutations were found in all probands. DNA profiling carried on similar-looking twins of families I and II, proved them to be fraternal. This study demonstrates the importance of genetic analysis of RB1 gene for risk prediction in retinoblastoma families. It also emphasizes that DNA profiling is a mandate for genetic screening of families with twins, thus adding a new dimension in counseling of retinoblastoma.

Mixture Patterned Short Tandem Repeat Profile in a Perimortem Transfused Patient / 대한법의학회지

Recently, it has been reported that transfused patients can generate admixture-like genetic profiles. As genetic material of the donor can survive for a reasonable time after transfusion, the recipient's genomic DNA is likely to have a mixture pattern. An autopsy case of a man transfused perimortem generated a mixture patterned short tandem repeat profile. Notably, the patient was transfused mostly with nuclear-deficient cells, limiting the donor genetic material available for the recipient. As a result, mixture-like patterns were observed consistently, regardless of change in input DNA content; the sample DNA content, which was serially diluted, ranged from 1 ng to 0.0625 ng. The distributions of foreign peaks appeared to be irreproducible, showing stochastic behaviors throughout the genotyped results. This study suggests that a cautious approach is required when genotyping of a patient who has undergone recent transfusion. One must consider the possibility of obtaining a mixture patterned profile in such patients, and therefore, choose parenchymal organs or tissues for reliable results.

Genetic Profiling, Chemical Characterization and Biological Evaluation of Two Conyza Species Growing in Egypt.

The present report is a comparative investigation of two Conyza species growing wild in Egypt namely, Conyza dioscoridis (L.) Desf. and Conyza bonariensis (L.) Cronquist. It comprises a genetic and chemical characterization of the plants, as well as an evaluation of their biological activities. The DNA fingerprints of the two species were established based on a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) procedure using ten decamer primers. Further characterization of the plants was performed via determination of pharmacopoeial constants, phytochemical screening and estimation of phenolic content (total phenolics, tannins and flavonoids). The ethanol (70%) extracts of C. dioscoridis (EECD) and C. bonariensis (EECB) were subjected to acute toxicity study to determine their LD50; the anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities were then evaluated. Screening for potential cytotoxicity was carried out both by Brine Shrimp Lethality Test and Sulphorodamine-B assay on three human cell lines viz., breast carcinoma (MCF7), colorectal carcinoma (HCT116) and cervical carcinoma (HELA) cell lines. The DNA profiling revealed a similarity index of 88.89% between the investigated species. The variability observed among the pharmacopoeial constants constitute a valuable differential criterion; the total ash, acid insoluble ash, water soluble ash and crude fiber values obtained for C. bonariensis exceeded (17, 5, 10 and 3.5%, respectively) those for C. dioscoridis; meanwhile, the moisture content was higher (10%) in the latter. The phytochemical screening of EECD and EECB revealed the presence of flavonoids, steroids, terpenoids and tannins in both species. Estimation of phenolic contents (total phenolics, tannins and flavonoids expressed as gallic acid, tannic acid and rutin equivalents, respectively) showed that EECD contains higher amounts of all these constituents when compared to EECB (1.17 vs. 0.96 mg/g, total phenolics; 2.43 vs. 1.83 mg/g, tannins and 0.62 vs. 0.29 mg/g, flavonoids). EECD and EECB were found to be safe (LD50 upto 0.5g/kg). Throughout evaluation of the antimicrobial activity against a set of microbial strains and potential cytotoxicity against MCF7, EECD appeared more efficient (MIC: 200-400 μg/ml and IC50: 2.97 μg/ml, respectively); meanwhile, the effect of EECB was more significant on HCT116 and HELA (IC50: 21 and 5.4 μg/ml, respectively). Results of in-vivo assessment of the anti-inflammatory activity showed that the inhibitory effect of EECD was more prominent than that of EECB (74.20% vs. 59.0%). However, the effect of the extracts was inversed in the Brine Shrimp Lethality test (30% vs. 40% lethality, respectively).

Kalanchoe thrysiflora Harv. and Kalanchoe marmorata Baker; DNA Profiling, biological guided fractionation of different extracts; isolation and identification of cytotoxic compounds.

DNA profiling of two closely related ornamental plants belonging to family crassulaceae viz. Kalanchoe thrysiflora Harv. and Kalanchoe marmorata Baker were performed to establish genetic polymorphism. Biological guided fractionation of the two plant extracts to assess their cytotoxicity, had led to the isolation of one steroidal and one triterpenoidal compound from the most active dichloromethane fraction of Kalanchoe thrysiflora. The cytotoxicity of the isolated compounds were evaluated against normal (HFB4) and cancer (MCF7) cells. Compound 1 (3-oxo-olean-12-ene) and compound 2 (β-sitosterol) showed similar cytotoxic activity on MCF7 at IC50 17.4 and 17.6 μg/ml respectively while on HFB4, the compounds revealed cytotoxic activity at IC50 21.9 and 21.6 respectively.

DNA profiling in forensic dentistry.

In last few years, DNA analysis methods are applied to forensic cases. Forensic dental record comparison has been used for human identification in cases where destruction of bodily tissues or prolonged exposure to the environment has made other means of identification impractical, i.e., after fire exposure or mass disaster.Teeth play an important role in identification and criminology, due to their unique characteristics and relatively high degree of physical and chemical resistance. The use of DNA profile test in forensic dentistry offers a new perspective in human identification.DNA is responsible for storing all the genetic material and is unique to each individual. The currently available DNA tests have high reliability and are accepted as legal proofs in courts. This article gives an overview of the evolution of DNA technology in the last few years, highlighting its importance in cases of forensic investigation.

A utilização de técnicas de biologia molecular na genética forense: uma revisão / The use of molecular biology techniques in foresinc genetics: a review

Os avanços nas tecnologias de DNA surtiram um enorme impacto no campo da ciência forense. Com uma incrível sensibilidade e um alto poder de discriminação, a análise de DNA tem sido uma poderosa ferramenta para a identificação humana e investigaçõescriminais. O presente estudo fará uma revisão sobre as técnicas de Biologia Molecular mais significativas – RFLP, VNTR, PCR e STR – que foram desenvolvidas nas últimas décadas, tendo como princípio o estudo de diferentes polimorfismos de DNA para a identificação precisa de indivíduos. Por um longo tempo, estes polimorfismos foram detectados por técnicas que possuíam como base a eletroforese.Outra técnica que também será exposta, Southern Blotting, visa a identificação de uma seqüência de bases específicas do DNA, que foi por muito tempo aplicada tanto na detecção de SNPs como de VNTRs e STRs. Além disto, será descrita a reação em cadeia da polimerase (PCR), um método laboratorial capaz de copiar milhões de vezes um segmento do DNA, que se destaca perante outras técnicas por ser um procedimento relativamente simples e fácil de realizar em laboratório, gerando resultados precisos e satisfatórios, em um curto espaço de tempo. Por fim, serão descritos os métodos automatizados que, a partir de PCR, permitem a detecçãorápida de marcadores moleculares, a fim de facilitar e tornar mais precisa a identificação forense.

The advent of DNA-based technologies promoted significant impact in the field of forensic science. According to its highsensibility and powerful discrimination, the DNA analyses have been a powerful tool to human identification and criminal investigations. The present study will be taken to produce a review about the most important techniques of molecular biology developed in recent decades, such as RFLP, VNTR, PCR and STR. These techniques are based in the study of different polymorphisms in the DNAand it could be used in the precise subjects identification. For a period, these polymorphisms were detected through techniques based in electrophoresis. Besides, other procedures will be explained, like Southern Blotting that aims to identify specific DNA sequences and could be applied in the research of SNPs, VNTRs and STRs. It will be also described the Polimerase Chain Reaction (PCR), alaboratorial method able to amplify millions of a short DNA segment. This technique has some advantages through the others because it is a simple and easy procedure to be done in laboratories, and could offer accurate and satisfactory results in a short period of time. Concluding, automated techniques based in PCR will be present that permit fast detection of molecular evidences in order to facilitate and promote reliable forensic identification.

DNA Polymorphism An-Appraisal.

Ever since the discovery of restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) by Kan and Dozy (1978), several significant achievements have been made in DNA polymorphism studies over the past two decades. It is indeed the observation of hypervariable minisatellites as dispersed throughout the genome by Jeffreys et al. (1985a) has added new dimension and that gave the impetus to the prolific application of DNA polymorphism in many fields such as medicine, agriculture, population genetics, and forensic science. Here we enumerate the historical background, basis, analytical approaches and applications associated with DNA polymorphism studies. We also present a detailed account of various DNA probes in vogue such as cloned (single and multilocus) minisatellites/VNTRs, synthetic oligonucleotides and the advantages and limitations of each probe/system. The recent advances made in PCR based DNA typing is also highlighted.