Establishment of a national DNA database in the Republic of Serbia: Legal aspects and implications for the future.

Forensic DNA databases have been established in the vast majority of European countries and represent an essential personal identification instrument in the criminal justice system. The implementation of suitable legislation and accompanying legal practice is an imperative to ensure sensible use of the DNA repository, without interfering with the rights, freedoms and privacy of individuals and their families. Thus, the complex matter of DNA databank effectiveness and intrusiveness is a delicate balancing act, which has resulted in diverse database governing regimes among different countries. In 2018, the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia passed the first Law on the National DNA Register, which was created by the Ministry of Interior. This short and imprecise regulation was announced without prior consultation with professional stakeholders or the public, resulting in controversy. In this article, we examine essential questions pertinent to launching a forensic DNA database through the lens of the new Law on the National DNA Register in the Republic of Serbia and in comparison to the other European approaches and guidelines to regulating forensic DNA repositories. We further discuss the resulting legal, social and ethical implications and concerns and propose future actions intended to improve the legal framework. We believe that stimulating such discussions throughout the scientific and professional community will result in the advancement of DNA profiling and databasing in a future European Union member state and, more generally, the manner in which biological data are managed in various countries, particularly those that are developing.

Public Understanding, Perceptions, and Information Sources about Bioterrorism: Pilot Study from the Republic of Serbia.

Bioterrorism presents a complex national, international, and human security threat, which requires a multidisciplinary approach to preparation and planning. Although the public plays an integral part of every aspect of bioterrorism, their understanding of and attitudes toward bioterrorism have not been extensively researched in the past, but are important for efficient knowledge communication. This study examines the baseline public comprehension and perceptions of bioterrorism, as well as the underpinning, trusted information sources in the Republic of Serbia. Results demonstrate overall poor understanding of bioterrorism and a notable lack of distinction between bioterrorism and infectious agents in general. These findings represent the first such body of knowledge in Europe and are in agreement with previous data from North America and Australia. Interestingly, the idea that bioterrorism agents are an intentional laboratory product of genetic engineering and synthetic biology approaches is significantly present among the surveyed population, but with contradicting views on whether such actions would be malicious or well-intended. These ideas, coupled with substantial mistrust in government institutions and news media, could inflict serious consequences and, therefore, should be taken into consideration when designing prevention and preparedness strategies, as well as interventions through knowledge communication.

Attitudes regarding the national forensic DNA database: Survey data from the general public, prison inmates and prosecutors' offices in the Republic of Serbia.

Worldwide, the establishment of national forensic DNA databases has transformed personal identification in the criminal justice system over the past two decades. It has also stimulated much debate centering on ethical issues, human rights, individual privacy, lack of safeguards and other standards. Therefore, a balance between effectiveness and intrusiveness of a national DNA repository is an imperative and needs to be achieved through a suitable legal framework. On its path to the European Union (EU), the Republic of Serbia is required to harmonize its national policies and legislation with the EU. Specifically, Chapter 24 of the EU acquis communautaire (Justice, Freedom and Security) stipulates the compulsory creation of a forensic DNA registry and adoption of corresponding legislation. This process is expected to occur in 2016. Thus, in light of launching the national DNA database, the goal of this work is to instigate a consultation with the Serbian public regarding their views on various aspects of the forensic DNA databank. Importantly, this study specifically assessed the opinions of distinct categories of citizens, including the general public, the prosecutors' offices staff, prisoners, prison guards, and students majoring in criminalistics. Our findings set a baseline for Serbian attitudes towards DNA databank custody, DNA sample and profile inclusion and retention criteria, ethical issues and concerns. Furthermore, results clearly demonstrate a permissive outlook of the respondents who are professional "beneficiaries" of genetic profiling and a restrictive position taken by the respondents whose genetic material has been acquired by the government. We believe that this opinion poll will be essential in discussions regarding a national DNA database, as well as in motivating further research on the reasons behind the observed views and subsequent development of educational strategies. All of these are, in turn, expected to aid the creation of suitable legislation and to increase societal confidence that the repository will be used in the legal system without interference with individual rights and freedoms.

Unusually low levels of genetic variation among Giardia lamblia isolates.

Giardia lamblia, an intestinal pathogen of mammals, including humans, is a significant cause of diarrheal disease around the world. Additionally, the parasite is found on a lineage which separated early from the main branch in eukaryotic evolution. The extent of genetic diversity among G. lamblia isolates is insufficiently understood, but this knowledge is a prerequisite to better understand the role of parasite variation in disease etiology and to examine the evolution of mechanisms of genetic exchange among eukaryotes. Intraisolate genetic variation in G. lamblia has never been estimated, and previous studies on interisolate genetic variation have included a limited sample of loci. Here we report a population genetics study of intra- and interisolate genetic diversity based on six coding and four noncoding regions from nine G. lamblia isolates. Our results indicate exceedingly low levels of genetic variation in two out of three G. lamblia groups that infect humans; this variation is sufficient to allow identification of isolate-specific markers. Low genetic diversity at both coding and noncoding regions, with an overall bias towards synonymous substitutions, was discovered. Surprisingly, we found a dichotomous haplotype structure in the third, more variable G. lamblia group, represented by a haplotype shared with one of the homogenous groups and an additional group-specific haplotype. We propose that the distinct patterns of genetic-variation distribution among lineages are a consequence of the presence of genetic exchange. More broadly, our findings have implications for the regulation of gene expression, as well as the mode of reproduction in the parasite.

Bidirectional transcription is an inherent feature of Giardia lamblia promoters and contributes to an abundance of sterile antisense transcripts throughout the genome.

A prominent feature of transcription in Giardia lamblia is the abundant production of sterile antisense transcripts (Elmendorf et al. The abundance of sterile transcripts in Giardia lamblia. Nucleic Acids., 29, 4674-4683). Here, we use a computational biology analysis of SAGE data to assess the abundance and distribution of sense and antisense messages in the parasite genome. Sterile antisense transcripts are produced at approximately 50% of loci with detectable transcription, yet their abundance at a given locus does not correlate to the abundance of the complementary sense transcripts at that locus or to transcription levels at neighboring loci. These data suggest that sterile antisense transcripts are not simply a local effect of open chromatin structure. Using 5'RACE, we demonstrate that Giardia promoters are a source of antisense transcripts through bidirectional transcription, producing both downstream coding sense and upstream sterile antisense transcripts. We use a dual reporter system to explore roles of specific promoter elements in this bidirectional initiation of transcription and suggest that the degenerate AT-rich nature of TATA and Inr elements in Giardia permits them to function interchangeably. The phenomenon of bidirectional transcription in G. lamblia gives us insight into the interaction between transcriptional machinery and promoter elements, and may be the prominent source of the abundant antisense transcription in this parasite.