A validation study of the Qiagen Investigator DIPplex® kit; an INDEL-based assay for human identification.

ABSTRACT

Marker sets that are based on small insertion/deletion (INDEL) alleles can serve as useful supplementary or stand-alone assays for human identification. A validation study has been performed on a human identification assay based on a panel of 30 INDELs and amelogenin using the Investigator DIPplex® kit (Qiagen). The assay was able to type DNA from a number of forensically relevant sample types and obtain full profiles with 62 pg of template DNA and partial profiles with as little as 16 pg of template DNA. The assay is reproducible, precise, and non-overlapping alleles from minor contributors were detectable in mixture analysis ranging from 61 to 191 mixtures. Population studies were performed on the 30 indels, and there were no significant departures from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium or significant linkage disequilibrium between the markers (after correction for sampling). In all populations, the random match probability was 1.43 × 10(-11) or less, and the power of exclusion was greater than .999999999. We also discovered several microvariant alleles in our population samples. The data support that the Investigator DIPplex® kit provides a powerful supplement or stand-alone capability for human identity testing.