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Kalina lab attempts mother of all lineage testing

The special characteristics of mtDNA make it useful for certain types of DNA testing.

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A joke oft chuckled over about lineage is that no one really knows who one's father is — the only fact without dispute is who one's mother is. The Kalina Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) is making strides to help individuals trace their maternal lineage far back in time. The lab is initiating the analysis of Mitochondrial Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), making the lineage tracing process easier.

The DNA inside of mitochondria (called Mitochondrial DNA) is unlike the DNA inside the nucleus in that all of it comes from the mother. In other words, unlike the DNA inside the nucleus, it is not a mixture of parents' DNA, and each person's mtDNA is nearly identical to his/her mother's mtDNA.

The special characteristics of mtDNA make it useful for certain types of DNA testing. In crime scene investigations, the amount of this DNA is a critical factor in determining what kind of information forensic scientists can retrieve and whether they can identify the individuals at the scene.

In fact, the FSL's first foray into mtDNA testing was in the Priyanka Gurav case. The Worli resident's dismembered body was recovered from different parts of the city. While her head was found at a desolate spot in Shahpur, the torso was found in a drain earlier at Mahape MIDC.

"It is important to analyse mtDNA in cases were DNA samples are degraded. It helps the police in their investigation," said an FSL official.

Mitochondrial DNA has provided forensic scientists with a valuable tool for determining the source of DNA recovered from damaged, degraded or very small biological samples. The mtDNA is a small circular genome located in the mitochondria, which is located outside of a cell's nucleus.

"Mitochondria plays a pivotal role in missing person cases, forensic investigations and during mass disasters which often has limited biological material. With mtDNA being maternally inherited, it bars mutation," said Dr Rukmani Krishnamurthy, former director, FSL and Chairperson Helik Advisory Limited.

"Moreover, an individual's mother, siblings and other maternally related family members will have identical mtDNA sequences. The forensic comparisons can be made using a reference sample from any maternal relative even if the unknown and the reference sample are separated by enerations," said Krishnamurthy.

KV Kulkarni, Director, Kalina Forensic Science Laboratory said,"We have ordered for the kit to conduct mtDNA analyses. It will be functional in our laboratory soon to detect female-to-female relations of various generations."

He added that all analyses will be conducted in Maharashtra with state-of-the-art technology.

Making strides

The lab is initiating the analysis of Mitochondrial Deoxyribonucleic acid, making the tracing process easier. 
The special characteristics of mtDNA make it useful for certain types of DNA testing.

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