EMPOP
Definition
EMPOP mtDNA Population Database, maintained at the Institute of Legal Medicine, Innsbruck, Austria. Contains over 50,000 curated mtDNA sequences and uses phylogenetic frequency estimation. Primary forensic reference for ISFG and ENFSI member laboratories.
- Full name
- EMPOP mtDNA Population Database
- Hosted by
- Institute of Legal Medicine, Innsbruck
- Size
- Over 50,000 curated sequences
- Method
- Phylogenetic frequency estimation
Common questions
What is EMPOP used for in casework?+
Estimating how common a questioned mtDNA control-region haplotype is in a relevant population, giving a statistical weight to a proposed match rather than a unique identification.
Why does EMPOP check submissions phylogenetically before accepting them?+
Raw sequencing errors or nomenclature mistakes would distort haplotype frequency counts, so each entry is checked against the known mtDNA phylogenetic tree before it is included in the reference dataset.
Related terms
- AFDIL
- Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory, at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware. The US military's central identification laboratory, responsible for mtDNA-based identification of...
- Heteroplasmy
- The co-existence of two or more mitochondrial DNA sequence variants within a single individual, arising from somatic mutation or incomplete segregation. Length...
- Hypervariable Region (HV1, HV2)
- Two segments within the mitochondrial D-loop that accumulate sequence variation faster than the coding mitochondrial genome. HV1 spans positions 16024-16365; HV2 spans...
- rCRS
- The revised Cambridge Reference Sequence (GenBank accession NC_012920), the standard reference for human mitochondrial DNA. All mtDNA variant positions in forensic and...
- RSRS
- Reconstructed Sapiens Reference Sequence (2012). A phylogenetically derived ancestral human mtDNA sequence used in academic population genetics but not in forensic casework...