Volume 55, Issue 2 pp. 410-417

Comparative Analysis of the Effects of Heat on the PCR-Amplification of Various Sized DNA Fragments Extracted from Sus Scrofa Molars*

Kelly A. Rees M.Sc.

Kelly A. Rees M.Sc.

Centre for Forensic Sciences, Bournemouth University, Talbot Campus, Fern Barrow, Poole Dorset, BH12 5BB, U.K.

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Margaret J. Cox Ph.D.

Margaret J. Cox Ph.D.

Department of Material and Applied Sciences, Cranfield University, Shrivenham, Swindon, Wiltshire, SN6 8LA, U.K.

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First published: 01 March 2010
Citations: 10
Additional information and reprint requests:
Kelly A. Rees, M.Sc.
Centre for Forensic Sciences
Bournemouth University
Talbot Campus
Fern Barrow
Poole
Dorset, BH12 5BB
U.K.
E-mail: [email protected]
*

Presented in poster form at the 2006 INFORCE Foundation Annual Conference, Bournemouth University; and at the 59th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, February 19–24, 2007, in San Antonio, TX.

Abstract

Abstract: This study examined the effects of heat on the amplification of DNA from the dental pulp of Sus scrofa molars and investigated the protection afforded to the pulp tissue by the dental enamel, alveolar process, and soft tissue of the head. Segments of defleshed maxilla and mandible encasing the first molar (n = 60) were subject to a range of temperatures for 15 min. Dental pulps were retrieved. Amplifications using three-primer and four-primer multiplexes showed no degradation of the largest fragment following exposure to 450°C. Amplifications in the three-primer multiplex (283 bp) were successful following exposure to 525°C in maxillary samples only. This study revealed the enamel density of maxillary molars to be greater than mandibular molars in Sus scrofa. Following incineration of intact heads for 15 min (n = 10) and 1 h (n = 4) at an average temperature of 625°C, amplifications of the largest fragment (450 bp) were successful from both maxillary and mandibular teeth.

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