A new method for sex determination of the donor of forensic samples using a recombinant DNA probe

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Microscopical methods for sex determination of denatured samples in forensic laboratories are frequently unreliable. This paper describes the use of a recombinant DNA probe which hybridises specifically to a 2.47 kb repeat sequence of which 2000 copies are present on the Y chromosome. The technique enables rapid and reliable sex determinations of degraded DNA samples and produces results from blood stains greater than 4 years old in which only low molecular weight (< 10 kb) DNA is present. Stains from less than 1 μL of blood or a single hair root is required for the test using dot blot hybridisations. Electrophoretic analyses revealed that Hae III restriction of DNA samples produced somatically stable patterns.