What is the best sample to take from a dead body for DNA testing?
Blood, tissue or hair roots can be collected from a body. If the body is decomposed, the best samples are long bones such as the humerus or femur. However, we can also work with teeth. • Can the presence of blood or semen be detected on an item of clothing or other materials/objects? Yes. Testing can be performed to confirm the presence of blood, sperm and/or semen in a sample. • Are you able to get a DNA profile from urine? Yes. A profile can be obtained from urine. • Can you test hair without the root? Yes. Instead of using nuclear DNA testing, we would use mitochondrial DNA testing. • I have a sample with a male/female mixture, but no male DNA profile was obtained from standard testing. Is there a way to obtain a male profile? Yes. Y-STR testing can be used to obtain a male profile in these instances. However, a minimum amount of male DNA must be present. If there are multiple male contributors in a sample, Y-STR testing may also help to differentiate the individual contributors. •
Blood, tissue or hair roots can be collected from a body. If the body is decomposed, the best samples are long bones such as the humerus or femur. However, some laboratories can also work with teeth. A minimal sample as required as techniques like polymerase chain reaction can amplify the extracted DNA thousandfolds in short time.
