Supplemental panel for use in cattle theft casework

In an effort to combat the rising incidence of cattle theft, law enforcement agencies have turned to DNA analysis to establish ownership and to prosecute perpetrators. Since most stolen cattle are unbranded or have had their brands altered, parentage verification is increasingly used to identify individuals and return them to their rightful owners. The cattle parentage panels used by laboratories worldwide are robust and adequate for verifying parentage in proposed parent-offspring scenarios. However, when considering a large number of potential parents for an individual, a greater power of discrimination is required. It is imperative that when comparing calves against a pool of prospective dams or sires, there are sufficient markers to resolve complex inbred relationships. To augment the strength of our standard 14-marker parentage test, we developed and validated a 12-marker panel for use on cattle theft cases. The supplemental panel contains 11 unlinked autosomal dinucleotide repeat markers and one marker that is duplicated from the primary panel for continuity. All markers are in the public domain. The implementation of this test has led to an enhanced ability to exclude an incorrect parent in single-parent analyses commonly encountered in forensic casework. The single parent probability of exclusion (SPPE) has increased from 0.9987 for 14 markers to 0.99999 for 25 markers. The probability of identity (PI), which is an estimate of the probability that two randomly chosen individuals will have the same genotype, is less than 1 x 10-10 for each of the fourteen breeds tested with this panel. Furthermore, PI can also be calculated for small numbers of individuals and for populations comprised only of siblings, both of which may occur in cattle theft cases. The enhanced statistical power of the combined panels has increased confidence in our results and strengthened their ability to withstand challenges in court

Brown_et_al_Appendix_1

Contains general sample information, mtDNA haplotype data, Y chromosome haplotypes and microsatellite data for Arctic dogs and wolves

Data from: Using multiple markers to elucidate the ancient, historical, and modern relationships among North American Arctic dog breeds

Throughout most of the Americas, post-colonial dogs largely erased the genetic signatures of pre-historical dogs. However, the North American Arctic harbors dogs that are potentially descended from pre-historical ancestors, as well as those affected by post-colonial translocations and admixtures. In particular, Inuit dogs from Canada and Greenland are thought to descend from dogs associated with Thule peoples, who relied on them for transportation ca. 1000 years ago. Whether Thule dogs reflected an earlier colonization by Paleoeskimo dogs ca. 4500 years ago is unknown. During the Alaskan Gold Rush, additional sled dogs, possibly of post-colonial derivation, the Alaskan Husky, Malamute and Siberian Husky, were used in the Arctic. The genealogical relationships among and origins of these breeds are unknown. Here we use autosomal, paternal and maternal DNA markers to (1) test the hypothesis that Inuit dogs have retained their indigenous ancestry, (2) characterize their relationship to one another and to other Arctic breeds, and (3) estimate the age of North American indigenous matrilines and patrilines. On the basis of the agreement of all three markers we determined that Inuit dogs have maintained their indigenous nature, and that they likely derive from Thule dogs. In addition, we provide support for previous research that the Inuit dogs from Canada and Greenland dog should not be distinguished as two breeds. The Alaskan Husky displayed evidence of European introgression, in contrast to the Malamute and Siberian Husky, which appear to have maintained most of their ancient Siberian ancestry

Acceptance of domestic cat mitochondrial DNA in a criminal proceeding

Shed hair from domestic animals readily adheres to clothing and other contact items, providing a source of transfer evidence for criminal investigations. Mitochondrial DNA is often the only option for DNA analysis of shed hair. Human mitochondrial DNA analysis has been accepted in the US court system since 1996. The murder trial of the State of Missouri versus Henry L. Polk, Jr. represents the first legal proceeding where cat mitochondrial DNA analysis was introduced into evidence. The mitochondrial DNA evidence was initially considered inadmissible due to concerns about the cat dataset and the scientific acceptance of the marker. Those concerns were subsequently addressed, and the evidence was deemed admissible. This report reviews the case in regards to the cat biological evidence and its ultimate admission as generally accepted and reliable. Expansion and saturation analysis of the cat mitochondrial DNA control region dataset supported the initial interpretation of the evidence