Identification of Unknown PCR Products Generated During STR Analysis of Bone Samples

STR typing of DNA extracted from bone samples exhibited additional amplified products with the PowerPlex® 16 HS Kit (Promega Corp., Madison, WI) and the Identifiler® Plus Amplification kit (Life Technologies, Foster City, CA). Microbial DNA found in soil that is co-extracted and amplified with the human DNA from bones may be the source of the artifacts seen during the STR analysis of the DNA samples. This project tested the hypothesis that the additional PCR products found in the STR analysis of DNA derived from bone samples are microbial or fungal in origin. This study has demonstrated that amplification of soil samples with an STR kit can produce artifacts, similar to those seen in the bone samples. A protocol was developed to isolate the artifact products. Attempts were made to Sequence the amplified PCR product; however, no sequencing results have been obtained, further experiments continue to attempt to generate sequencing results.