Preliminary Study of Alpha-Globin mRNA as a Molecular Tool for Age Estimation of Human Bloodstains

Authors

  • Unyarat TUCKPRAKHON Forensic Science Program, Faculty of Science, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen 40002
  • Khomsorn LOMTHAISONG Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen 40002
  • Sakda DADUANG Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen 40002
  • Khemika LOMTHAISONG Forensic Science Program, Faculty of Science, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen 40002

Keywords:

Human alpha-globin mRNA, human blood identification, age estimation, forensic science

Abstract

This research aims to investigate the possibility of using a-globin mRNA for both human blood identification and age estimation of bloodstains. Primers specific to human a-globin mRNA were designed. These primers were then used to amplify cDNA prepared from human and animal blood samples. A 168 bp DNA band was only detected in the reaction containing the human blood sample. This result suggesting that the designed primers could be able to be used for PCR amplification of human blood evidence. For age estimation of human bloodstains, bloodstains on cotton clothes (3 males and 3 females) were prepared and then separately kept at 30 ºC for 0, 30, 60, 90, 120, and 150 days, respectively. The quantity of a-globin cDNA in each sample was then examined in 3 replicates by real-time PCR. Interestingly, the quantity of a-globin cDNA tended to decrease with the age of the bloodstain. The coefficients of determination (R2) of male and female bloodstains were 0.90 and 0.88, respectively. Our observed results suggested that age estimation of human bloodstains could be performed by comparing the quantity of a-globin mRNA presented in the samples.

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Published

2015-10-02

How to Cite

TUCKPRAKHON, U., LOMTHAISONG, K., DADUANG, S., & LOMTHAISONG, K. (2015). Preliminary Study of Alpha-Globin mRNA as a Molecular Tool for Age Estimation of Human Bloodstains. Walailak Journal of Science and Technology (WJST), 13(4), 281–290. Retrieved from https://wjst.wu.ac.th/index.php/wjst/article/view/1682

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