Othram Inc.
Definition
Texas-based forensic genetics company offering the FORCE target-capture SNP profiling service for degraded and low-quantity crime-scene DNA and unidentified-remains casework using IGG.
- Location
- Texas, United States
- Core service
- FORCE target-capture SNP profiling
- Application
- Degraded and low-quantity crime-scene DNA, unidentified remains
- Technique family
- Investigative genetic genealogy (IGG)
Common questions
How does Othram's target-capture approach differ from standard forensic STR typing?+
Target-capture SNP profiling recovers thousands of single-nucleotide markers usable for genealogical matching against consumer DNA databases, whereas standard STR typing recovers a small set of markers designed only for direct identity comparison against a reference sample or database like CODIS.
Why is target-capture SNP profiling suited to highly degraded samples?+
The capture probes target short genomic regions, so the method can recover usable SNP data from fragmented, low-quantity DNA that would fail to amplify reliably with longer-amplicon STR kits.
Related terms
- DOJ Interim Policy 2019
- US Department of Justice Interim Policy on Forensic Genetic Genealogy DNA Analysis (24 September 2019), limiting IGG to violent crimes and unidentified...
- ForenSeq DNA Signature Prep Kit
- Verogen MPS library-preparation kit typing 27 autosomal STRs, 7 X-STRs, 23 Y-STRs, 94 identity SNPs, and 56 ancestry SNPs in a single...
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- The law-enforcement tier of GEDmatch, acquired by Verogen in 2020. Operates on an opt-in model; only profiles of users who have explicitly...
- Identical by Descent (IBD)
- A chromosomal segment shared between two individuals because both inherited it from a common ancestor without an intervening recombination event. The amount...
- Investigative Genetic Genealogy (IGG)
- A forensic identification technique that uploads a crime-scene DNA profile to a consumer genealogy database, identifies partial matches suggesting distant family relationships,...
- Massively Parallel Sequencing (MPS) / NGS
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