Effectiveness of Single-Nucleotide Polymorphisms to Investigate Cattle Rustling

FERNÁNDEZ ME; ROGBERG MUÑOZ A; LIRÓN JP; GOSZCZYNSKI DE; RIPOLI MV; CARINO MH; PERAL GARCÍA P; GIOVAMBATTISTA G

JOURNAL OF FORENSIC SCIENCES

WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2014 vol. 59 p. 1607 - 1613

0022-1198

STRs have been successfully used in animal genetic identification in forensic investigations. However, SNPs became greater acceptance. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of a SNP panel to resolve forensic cases. Thirty-two SNPs were genotyped using DNA from different biological sources, including cattle rustling samples, through OpenArraysTM technology. Performance and repeatability obtained for SNPs were compared with those of the standard cattle STR panel. SNP results showed a call rate of 80.18%, varying significantly among types of samples. Forensic samples exhibited call rates (70.94%) lower than reference ones. The used technology exhibited high reliability (repeatability = 98.7%). SNPs had better call rates than STRs in 12 out of 20 casework samples, while both type of markers present similar forensic index values. In conclusion, the results showed that the 32 SNP panel is as informative as the standard bovine STR battery and could be adequate to resolve cattle rustling investigations.