Validation of Gender Identification by “Alu” Insertion on Y chromosome for Forensic Mass Disaster

Gender determination of human samples is critical in Forensic Identification. The most popular forensic kit AmpliFlSTR® is based on Short Tandem Repeat (STR), and gender determination is performed on a single copy Amelogenin gene which has X and Y homologous chromosomes. This method is not sufficiently sensitive for degraded and a small number of samples and requires a lengthy time. Further, this method needs fragment analysis by Genetic Analyzer and an analytical kit for sample preparation which is costly and not available for public support developing country. Thus, it is urgent to have an alternative, quick, and cost-effective gender identification method during mass disasters. We proposed to use an alternative PCR method with a single AluSTYa primer and compare it with our designed primer to identify male and female DNA samples in mass disasters when identification is crucial. In the current research, we scanned 16 samples from the fire incidence area known as Mohammadpur slam of Dhaka city in different time frames, where bodies were partially burnt. Patients were admitted to the burn unit of Dhaka Medical College, Dhaka. Thirty-six unknown samples from the healthy cohort were included from the Dhaka University campus for comparison. Modified Alu primer was used in addition to known commercial AluSTYa primers. This study shows that our designed primer and commercial AluSTYa primer can identify Alu insertion by a simple PCR method into a non-recombinant Y homologous region. The results shows the high quality of DNA extracted from the burnt specimens and 100% difference in the number of bands in X and Y chromosomes by a simple, robust, and cost-effective PCR and agarose gel electrophoresis method for gender identification. This method can be applied to mass disaster incidents where rapid gender identification of unknown persons is urgent for forensic purposes.