FORENSeq DNA Signature Prep
Definition
Commercial MPS kit from Verogen that types STRs, Y-STRs, X-STRs, identity SNPs, AIMs, and EVC SNPs in a single library preparation and sequencing run on the MiSeq FGx instrument.
- Manufacturer
- Verogen
- Marker types
- STRs, Y-STRs, X-STRs, identity SNPs, AIMs, EVC SNPs
- Workflow
- Single library preparation and sequencing run
- Instrument
- MiSeq FGx
Common questions
Why is running STRs and SNPs together in one MPS kit an advantage over traditional CE-based STR typing?+
Conventional capillary electrophoresis typing produces only STR profiles, requiring separate assays for ancestry or phenotype SNPs. Combining marker types in one massively parallel sequencing run extracts identity, kinship, ancestry and physical trait information from a single sample and workflow, useful when sample quantity is limited.
What does the AIM and EVC SNP content add beyond standard identity typing?+
Ancestry-informative markers (AIMs) estimate an unidentified individual's biogeographic ancestry, and externally visible characteristic (EVC) SNPs predict physical traits like eye and hair colour, providing investigative leads about an unknown contributor when no database match exists, which pure identity STR typing cannot offer.
Does using this kit change how a resulting DNA profile is used for database searching?+
The core autosomal STR component remains compatible with standard CODIS-style database searching, while the additional SNP data serves separate investigative or lineage purposes and is generally not submitted to conventional STR-based criminal databases in the same way.
Related terms
- Ancestry-Informative Marker (AIM)
- A SNP with an allele-frequency difference (FST) above 0.4 or 0.5 between continental population groups. A panel of 100-200 AIMs provides probabilistic...
- Externally Visible Characteristic (EVC)
- An observable physical trait (eye colour, hair colour, skin tone, height, facial morphology) whose variation in the population is partly genetically determined...
- HIrisPlex-S
- A 41-SNP externally visible characteristics (EVC) panel for simultaneous prediction of eye, hair, and skin colour, developed at Erasmus MC Rotterdam by...
- Parabon Snapshot
- A commercial DNA phenotyping service (Parabon NanoLabs, Virginia, US) that genotypes thousands of SNPs from a crime-scene sample and uses machine learning...
- SNPforID Consortium
- European-funded research consortium that published the foundational 52-SNP identity panel for forensic use in 2004-2006. The 52-plex is validated for maximum discriminating...