From unknown to known: Identification of the remains at the mausoleum of fosse Ardeatine.

During the Second World War, on 24th March 1944, 335 Italians were massacred near Rome by the occupying forces of Nazi Germany. Four months later forensic examination led to the identification of 323 out of 335 victims. After approximately 60 years, the identification of the remaining unidentified twelve victims began with anthropological and genetic analysis carried out by a team of Italian forensic experts. Anthropological analysis was performed in field in order to confirm the sex of each victim and verify the presence of only one individual in each grave for a correct sampling. Selected bone fragments for each individual were then collected and transferred to the laboratory for genetic analysis. Although the anthropological ante mortem information was limited, morphological and metrical data was collected for a possible future identification of the victims. Subsequently, the typing of autosomal loci, Y-STR and mtDNA D-loop region of all bone and available reference samples was conducted. LR and cumulative LRs obtained from autosomal STR and Y-STR results confirmed the alleged relationship between three victims and their relatives with values over 104 (one sample) and 106 (two samples). Therefore, the genetic analysis offered the families the possibility of replacing the number of the grave with the name of the victim.

Neither femur nor tooth: Petrous bone for identifying archaeological bone samples via forensic approach.

One of the major challenges of molecular biology in anthropological analysis is the identification via DNA typing of bone or teeth samples that can be collected from archaeological site in order to investigate kinship relationships. Due to the difficulties of isolating and analysing DNA from such samples, several efforts have been made to solve these problems, but less work has been conducted to identify the proper type of bone samples for the DNA analysis. Therefore, following the promising results obtained from the DNA analysis of petrous bones by different groups of researchers, for the first time, here we investigated the possibility of using petrous bones as skeletal elements useful for short tandem repeat (STR) typing via capillary electrophoresis technique in ancient bone samples. In order to compare the results from petrous bone, femur and tooth samples, a total of 39 skeletal elements were collected from 13 different individuals excavated from Italian archaeological sites, dating from the sixth to seventh century C.E. The DNA was extracted, quantified, and subsequently amplified using two STR multiplex kits. The presence of a good amount of genetic material, despite high degradation, allowed us to quantify and subsequently identify STR profiles via CE analysis from ancient petrous bones that were complete for four out of thirteen samples and higher than 11 autosomal loci for all samples. Our results indicated that petrous bone is the best skeletal element with regard to DNA conservation and is a valuable element from which it is possible to obtain a complete STR profile also when analysing ancient bones. The STR results showed the possibility to use the petrous bones for identification and matching purposes in cases in which the biological material is poor and highly degraded such as in archaeological studies. Therefore, STR typing could represent a time-saving and cheap chance to verify kinship relationships in archaeological sites and evaluate sex when skeletal material is not suitable for morphometric estimate as in case of infants.

Pet fur or fake fur? A forensic approach.

BACKGROUND: In forensic science there are many types of crime that involve animals. Therefore, the identification of the species has become an essential investigative tool. The exhibits obtained from such offences are very often a challenge for forensic experts. Indeed, most biological materials are traces, hair or tanned fur. With hair samples, a common forensic approach should proceed from morphological and structural microscopic examination to DNA analysis. However, the microscopy of hair requires a lot of experience and a suitable comparative database to be able to recognize with a high degree of accuracy that a sample comes from a particular species and then to determine whether it is a protected one. DNA analysis offers the best opportunity to answer the question, 'What species is this?' In our work, we analyzed different samples of fur coming from China used to make hats and collars. Initially, the samples were examined under a microscope, then the mitochondrial DNA was tested for species identification. For this purpose, the genetic markers used were the 12S and 16S ribosomal RNA, while the hypervariable segment I of the control region was analyzed afterwards, to determine whether samples belonged to the same individual. RESULTS: Microscopic examination showed that the fibres were of animal origin, although it was difficult to determine with a high degree of confidence which species they belonged to and if they came from a protected species. Therefore, DNA analysis was essential to try to clarify the species of these fur samples. CONCLUSIONS: Macroscopic and microscopic analysis confirmed the hypothesis regarding the analyzed hair belonging to real animals, although it failed to prove with any kind of certainty which actual family it came from, therefore, the species remains unknown. Sequence data analysis and comparisons with the samples available in GenBank showed that the hair, in most cases, belonged to the Canidae family, and in one case only to Felidae.

Y chromosome haplotypes in Central-South Italy: implication for reference database.

One hundred and fifty individuals have been sampled across Central-South Italy and genotyped for Y chromosome STRs by PowerPlex Y system. Comparison with previous Italian databases revealed that majority of Y chromosome variation still need to be sampled. Identification of locus duplications, distribution of genetic variation and firstly identified alleles point to the necessity of more focused sampling strategies for reference databases.

Expression of seminal vesicle-specific antigen in serum of lung tumor patients.

Protein markers are commonly used in forensic medicine to establish the origin of human fluids detected in crime scenes. Semenogelins, the major protein constituents of semen coagulum, are the most effective markers for semen detection. Recently, it has been demonstrated that semenogelins are also ectopically expressed in small cell lung carcinomas (SCLC) and in a minority of non-small cell lung carcinomas (NSCLC). This finding prompted us to look for semenogelin expression in the serum of lung cancer patients. A set of 13 serum samples (3 from SCLC and 10 from NSCLC patients) was screened by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), using a commercially available kit. Four of the NSCLC cases showed positive results. Ectopic expression of marker proteins in individuals affected by cancer could represent a potential source of forensic pitfalls.