Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34208207›Full record

ArticleGenes2021

Towards Forensic DNA Phenotyping for Predicting Visible Traits in Dogs.

Cordula Berger, Josephin Heinrich, Burkhard Berger, Werner Hecht, Walther Parson, On Behalf Of CaDNAP

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Genes, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. The Revolution of Animal Genomics in Forensic Sciences.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023
    Review
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Cordula BergerInstitute of Legal Medicine, Medical University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria.
Josephin HeinrichInstitute of Legal Medicine, Medical University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria.ORCID 0000-0002-7046-819X
Burkhard BergerInstitute of Legal Medicine, Medical University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria.
Werner HechtInstitute of Veterinary Pathology, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, 35390 Giessen, Germany.
Walther ParsonInstitute of Legal Medicine, Medical University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria.ORCID 0000-0002-5692-2392
On Behalf Of CaDNAP

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The popularity of dogs as human companions explains why these pets regularly come into focus in forensic cases such as bite attacks or accidents. Canine evidence, e.g., dog hairs, can also act as a link between the victim and suspect in a crime case due to the close contact between dogs and their owners. In line with human DNA identification, dog individualization from crime scene evidence is mainly based on the analysis of short tandem repeat (STR) markers. However, when the DNA profile does not match a reference, additional information regarding the appearance of the dog may provide substantial intelligence value. Key features of the dog's appearance, such as the body size and coat colour are well-recognizable and easy to describe even to non-dog experts, including most investigating officers and eyewitnesses. Therefore, it is reasonable to complement eyewitnesses' testimonies with externally visible traits predicted from associated canine DNA samples. Here, the feasibility and suitability of canine DNA phenotyping is explored from scratch in the form of a proof of concept study. To predict the overall appearance of an unknown dog from its DNA as accurately as possible, the following six traits were chosen: (1) coat colour, (2) coat pattern, (3) coat structure, (4) body size, (5) ear shape, and (6) tail length. A total of 21 genetic markers known for high predicting values for these traits were selected from previously published datasets, comprising 15 SNPs and six INDELS. Three of them belonged to SINE insertions. The experiments were designed in three phases. In the first two stages, the performance of the markers was tested on DNA samples from dogs with well-documented physical characteristics from different breeds. The final blind test, including dogs with initially withheld appearance information, showed that the majority of the selected markers allowed to develop composite sketches, providing a realistic impression of the tested dogs. We regard this study as the first attempt to evaluate the possibilities and limitations of forensic canine DNA phenotyping.

Indexed as

PhenotypeQuantitative Trait LociAnimalsBody SizeDogsForensic GeneticsGenome-Wide Association StudyGenotyping TechniquesPolymorphism, Single NucleotideQuantitative Trait, HeritableShort Interspersed Nucleotide ElementsSkin Pigmentationcanine DNA phenotypingdomestic dog (Canis familiaris)forensicproof of concept study

Identifiers

PMID34208207
PMCPMC8230911

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.