Validation of Genemapper ID Human Identification Software for Forensic STR DNA Analysis

Capt, Christina L., Validation of GeneMapper ID Human Identification Software for Forensic STR DNA Analysis. Master of Science (Forensic Genetics), December, 2005, 73 pp., 5 tables, 12 figures, references, 6 titles. ABI GeneMapper ID analysis software replaces and combines both GeneScan and Genotyper data analysis programs. Fragment sizing and allele typing functions are performed in a single analysis, and the software includes data quality assessment features not available with previous software packages. The software was directly compared to the current laboratory STR data analysis software, GeneScan and Genotyper. All peaks evaluated with GeneMapper ID exhibited lower peak heights that their GeneScan/Genotyper analysis counterparts. A mean percent decrease in peak height of 3.8% ± 0.9% was observed for all peaks greater than 500rfu. Observed stutter ratios were comparable to the default stutter filter settings of GeneMapper ID. Parallel analyses of 388 sample files resulted in absolute concordance for all reference samples and most evidentiary samples. The software performed better than GeneScan/Genotyper in labeling microvariants, baselining data, disregarding –A peaks, aligning below threshold data, and defining size standard peaks despite artifact interference. The Off Scale and Spectral Pull-up PQV did not function as expected for sizing and genotyping STR fragments for forensic human identification analysis.