Abstract
In recent years the recovery and analysis of DNA from skeletal remains has been applied to several contexts ranging from disaster victim identification to the identification of the victims of conflict. Here are described procedures for processing the bone and tooth samples including mechanical and chemical cleaning, cutting and powdering in the presence of liquid nitrogen, complete demineralization of bone and tooth powder, DNA extraction, DNA purification using magnetic beads, and the precautions and strategies implemented to avoid and detect contamination. It has proven highly successful in the analysis of bones and teeth from Second World War victims’ skeletal remains that have been excavated from mass graves in Slovenia and is also suitable for genetic identification of relatively fresh human remains.
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Acknowledgements
The author gratefully acknowledges the contribution of Barbara Gornjak Pogorelc and Katja Vodopivec Mohorčič towards processing and DNA typing of bones and teeth.
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Pajnič, I.Z. (2016). Extraction of DNA from Human Skeletal Material. In: Goodwin, W. (eds) Forensic DNA Typing Protocols. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1420. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-3597-0_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-3597-0_7
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