Methods for rapid forensic analysis of mitochondrial DNA and characterization of mitochondrial DNA heteroplasmy
First Claim
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1. A forensic method of mitochondrial DNA analysis comprising the steps of:
- providing a forensic evidence sample;
amplifying two or more segments of mitochondrial DNA obtained from said forensic evidence sample to obtain two or more amplification products;
determining the molecular masses of said two or more amplification products by mass spectrometry, without sequencing said two or more amplification products; and
comparing said molecular masses of said two or more amplification products with at least one database comprising a plurality of known molecular masses from said two or more segments of mitochondrial DNA from a plurality of subjects, thereby reaching a forensic conclusion.
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Abstract
The present invention provides methods for rapid forensic analysis of mitochondrial DNA and methods for characterizing heteroplasmy of mitochondrial DNA, which can be used to assess the progression of mitochondrial diseases.
368 Citations
47 Claims
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1. A forensic method of mitochondrial DNA analysis comprising the steps of:
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providing a forensic evidence sample; amplifying two or more segments of mitochondrial DNA obtained from said forensic evidence sample to obtain two or more amplification products; determining the molecular masses of said two or more amplification products by mass spectrometry, without sequencing said two or more amplification products; and comparing said molecular masses of said two or more amplification products with at least one database comprising a plurality of known molecular masses from said two or more segments of mitochondrial DNA from a plurality of subjects, thereby reaching a forensic conclusion. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 46)
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16. The method of 1, further comprising determining the relative amounts of said one or more amplification products from the abundance of mass spectral peaks corresponding to said one or more amplification products.
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20. A forensic method of mitochondrial DNA analysis comprising the steps of:
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providing a forensic evidence sample; amplifying two or more segments of mitochondrial DNA obtained from said forensic evidence sample to obtain two or more amplification products; determining the molecular masses of said two or more amplification products by mass spectrometry, without sequencing said two or more amplification products; calculating base compositions of said two or more amplification products from said molecular masses; and comparing said base compositions of said two or more amplification products with at least one database comprising a plurality of known base compositions from said two or more segments of mitochondrial DNA from a plurality of subjects, thereby reaching a forensic conclusion. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 36, 37, 38, 47)
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35. The method of 20, further comprising determining the relative amounts of said two or more amplification products from the abundance of mass spectral peaks corresponding to said two or more amplification products.
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39. A method of characterizing heteroplasmy of two or more segments of mitochondrial DNA of a subject comprising the steps of:
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providing a sample from said subject; amplifying said two or more segments of mitochondrial DNA from said sample with two or more primer pairs to obtain a plurality of amplification products; determining molecular masses of said plurality of amplification products by mass spectrometry, without sequencing said plurality of amplification products; and determining base compositions of said plurality of amplification products thereby characterizing said heteroplasmy. - View Dependent Claims (40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45)
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Specification