Discovering the 60 years old secret: identification of the World War II mass grave victims from the island of Daksa near Dubrovnik, Croatia

Aim To describe the organization, field work, forensic anthropological examination, and DNA analysis conducted to identify the victims from a World War II mass grave found on the Dalmatian island of Daksa near Dubrovnik (Croatia) in 2009. Methods Excavation of the site was performed according to standard archeological procedures. Basic anthropological examination was made to determine the minimum number of victims, sex, age at death, and height. The bones with pathological and traumatic changes were identified. DNA was extracted from powdered bones and relatives’ blood samples. Y-chromosome and autosomal short tandem repeats (STR) were used to establish the relationship of the remains with the putative family members. Results The remains were found to belong to at least 53 distinctive victims. All were male, mostly with gunshot wounds to the head. DNA analysis and cross-matching of the samples with relatives resulted in 14 positive identifications using the Y-chromosomal STRs and 4 positive identifications using the autosomal STRs. Conclusions This study showed that even in cases of more than 50-year-old, highly degraded human remains from mass graves, Y-chromosomal and autosomal STRs analysis can contribute to identification of the victims

Skeletal Remains from Late Roman Period: »As Old as Diocletian\u27s Palace«

In 2000, human skeletal remains were discovered in Split (Croatia). As archaeologists confirmed, it was an ancient skeleton accompanied by ceramics and bracelet characteristic for late Roman period whose possible violent death was excluded. The bone sample was radiocarbon dated by AMS to 1750 years. DNA was successfully extracted from the bone sample and subsequently typed using mt DNA and STR systems. The metal content was determined by atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) in flame mode. Mercury concentration was determined by direct consecutive measures taken with a mercury analyzer. According to our results, we consider that the bones could belong to the one of the last citizens of the Diocletian’s Palace

Skeletal Remains from Late Roman Period: »As Old as Diocletian\u27s Palace«

In 2000, human skeletal remains were discovered in Split (Croatia). As archaeologists confirmed, it was an ancient skeleton accompanied by ceramics and bracelet characteristic for late Roman period whose possible violent death was excluded. The bone sample was radiocarbon dated by AMS to 1750 years. DNA was successfully extracted from the bone sample and subsequently typed using mt DNA and STR systems. The metal content was determined by atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) in flame mode. Mercury concentration was determined by direct consecutive measures taken with a mercury analyzer. According to our results, we consider that the bones could belong to the one of the last citizens of the Diocletian’s Palace

Y-chromosomal Short Tandem Repeat Haplotypes in Southern Croatian Male Population Defined by 17 Loci

Cilj Odrediti Y-kromosomsku genetsku strukturu na uzorku muškaraca iz južne Hrvatske. Postupci Uzorci krvi prikupljeni su od 166 zdravih muškaraca koji nisu rodbinski povezani na Zavodu za Sudsku Medicinu i u Biokemijskom laboratoriju Kliničke bolnice Split u razdoblju između 2004. i 2007. Genomska DNA je dobivena pomoću standardnih postupaka. Sedamnaest Y-kromosomskih kratkih udvojenih ponovljenih (Y-STR) polimorfnih lokusa (DYS456, DYS389I, DYS390, DYS389II, DYS458, DYS19, DYS385, DYS393, DYS391, DYS439, DYS635, DYS392, GATAH4, DYS437, DYS438, and DYS448) analizirani su pomoću sustava AmpFlSTR Yfiler Polymerase Chain Reaction Amplification Kit. Rezultati Pronašli smo 152 različita haplotipa. Ukupna raznolikost haplotipova bila je 0,997289, a pronađen je i and 141 jedinstveni haplotip (84,49%). Najčešći haplotip je bio zajednički samo četvorici muškaraca. Raznolikost lokusa je bila između 0,21292 kod lokusa DYS392 i 0,75546 kod lokusa DYS439. Zaključak Y-kromosomska građa muškaraca iz južne Hrvatske je vrlo raznolika. Kombinacija Y-kromosomskih 17 STR lokusa može se koristiti za identifikaciju i utvrđivanje roditeljstva u muškoj populaciji južne Hrvatske.Aim To define the Y-chromosome genetic structure in a sample of men from southern Croatia. Methods Blood samples were collected from 166 unrelated healthy men from southern Croatia at the Department of Forensic Medicine and Biochemical Laboratory of University Hospital Split between 2004 and 2007. Genomic DNA was extracted using the standard procedures. Seventeen Y-chromosome short tandem repeat (YSTR) polymorphic loci (DYS456, DYS389I, DYS390, DYS389II, DYS458, DYS19, DYS385, DYS393, DYS391, DYS439, DYS635, DYS392, GATAH4, DYS437, DYS438, and DYS448) were analyzed using AmpFlSTR Yfiler Polymerase Chain Reaction Amplification Kit. Results We observed 152 different haplotypes. Total haplotype diversity was 0.997289 and 141 haplotypes (84.49%) were unique. The most common haplotype was shared by only 4 men in the study sample. The locus diversity ranged between 0.21292 for DYS392 and 0.75546 for DYS439 locus. Conclusion The Y-chromosome structure in men from southern Croatia is very diverse. Combination of Y chromosome 17 STR loci may be used as a powerful tool for individual identification and parentage analysis in the southern Croatian male population