Problems of Forensic Sciences 2007 Vol. 69 (LXIX) 37-51
FORENSIC APPLICATION OF A RAPID TEST FOR RED HAIR COLOUR PREDICTION AND SEX DETERMINATION
Wojciech BRANICKI1, Paulina WOLAŃSKA-NOWAK1, Urszula BRUDNIK2, Tomasz KUPIEC1, Katarzyna SZYMAŃSKA1, Anna WOJAS-PELC2
1Institute of Forensic Research, Krakow
2Collegium Medicum of the Jagiellonian University, Krakow
Streszczenie
Genetic prediction of physical traits is of potential interest to forensic science. It has been shown that the MC1R gene is responsible for most cases of red hair colour in humans. The impact of this gene is very distinct, especially in populations of Northern European origin. Its analysis can be informative for prediction of the so-called RHC phenotype, but any new method implemented in forensic science should be subjected to validation studies. We optimised and validated a test which allows simultaneous analysis of the eleven most important MC1R polymorphisms and additionally one variable site in amelogenin, which is informative for sex typing. The developed simple Bayesian network enables evaluation of the influence of the kind of MC1R genotype as well as other factors on the unknown person’s hair colour. The overall probability structure is completely determined by specifying the conditional probability tables for each node, based on the obtained data.
Słowa kluczowe
Forensic genetics; Red hair colour; MC1R; Validation; Bayesian network.