The application of DNA profiling to the identification of victims in the Gulf war (1990-1991)
type: CreativeWork
description: This project was designed and developed in response to the need to improve the methodology employed in the DNA profiling of the Kuwaiti victims of the First Gulf War (1990-1991). The main challenges have involved developing the methodology in an attempt to increase the DNA recovery from the skeletal remains and also assess the preservation of DNA in the remains. In addition, work was undertaken to assess two commercial STR amplification kits, the Identifiler® and MiniFilerTM, to establish allele frequency databases for use in Kuwait and to assess the concordance of the two kits. In order to assess the methodology for DNA extraction and prediction of DNA preservation two sources of materials were used: simulated casework samples and actual casework samples. To obtain simulated casework samples, bones from sheep and teeth from human were buried at three different sites within Kuwait. These were sampled over a period of 60 weeks. In addition, samples from the femur and humerus of 25 individuals who were killed during the Gulf War, but had not yet been identified, were taken for analysis. These were exhumed from five gravesites, three in Iraq and two in Kuwait. Previous attempts to generate DNA profiles from the samples had failed. Different extractions protocols and purification methods were assessed including: a phenol:chloroform-based extraction; the GENECLEAN® Kit (Obiogene); QlAquick Gel Extraction kit (Qiagen); the QIAamp DNA Blood Maxi kit (Qiagen), using a protocol based on Davoren et al (2007); and a modified silica-based extraction using the DNeasy® Blood and Tissue Kit (Qiagen). PCR amplification of the extracts and the real-time quantification results showed that the modification of a silica-based method, using the Qiagen DNeasy® kit, was successful in removing inhibitors that were present in the extracts and obtained with all the other extraction methods. This allowed the successful profiling of 19 out of the 25 samples that had previously failed. In an att…
abstract: This project was designed and developed in response to the need to improve the methodology employed in the DNA profiling of the Kuwaiti victims of the First Gulf War (1990-1991). The main challenges have involved developing the methodology in an attempt to increase the DNA recovery from the skeletal remains and also assess the preservation of DNA in the remains. In addition, work was undertaken to assess two commercial STR amplification kits, the Identifiler® and MiniFilerTM, to establish allele frequency databases for use in Kuwait and to assess the concordance of the two kits. In order to assess the methodology for DNA extraction and prediction of DNA preservation two sources of materials were used: simulated casework samples and actual casework samples. To obtain simulated casework samples, bones from sheep and teeth from human were buried at three different sites within Kuwait. These were sampled over a period of 60 weeks. In addition, samples from the femur and humerus of 25 individuals who were killed during the Gulf War, but had not yet been identified, were taken for analysis. These were exhumed from five gravesites, three in Iraq and two in Kuwait. Previous attempts to generate DNA profiles from the samples had failed. Different extractions protocols and purification methods were assessed including: a phenol:chloroform-based extraction; the GENECLEAN® Kit (Obiogene); QlAquick Gel Extraction kit (Qiagen); the QIAamp DNA Blood Maxi kit (Qiagen), using a protocol based on Davoren et al (2007); and a modified silica-based extraction using the DNeasy® Blood and Tissue Kit (Qiagen). PCR amplification of the extracts and the real-time quantification results showed that the modification of a silica-based method, using the Qiagen DNeasy® kit, was successful in removing inhibitors that were present in the extracts and obtained with all the other extraction methods. This allowed the successful profiling of 19 out of the 25 samples that had previously failed. In an att…
author: Alenizi, Mohammad Abdullah
language: en
keywords: F410 - Forensic science
date published: 2009-04
date modified: 2026-07-24T01:36:13Z
provider: University of Central Lancashire
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Central Lancashire