Forensic Utility of the Mitochondrial Hypervariable Region 1 of Domestic Dogs, in Conjunction with Breed and Geographic Information

• Published in: Journal of forensic sciences 2008-01, Vol.53 (1), p.81-89
• Main Authors: Himmelberger, Andrea L., Spear, Theresa F., Satkoski, Jessica A., George, Debra A., Garnica, Wendy T., Malladi, Venkat S., Smith, David G., Webb, Kristen M., Allard, Marc W., Kanthaswamy, Sreetharan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Complementarity Determining Regions - genetics; Correlation analysis; DNA, Mitochondrial - genetics; Dogs; Dogs - genetics; domestic dog; forensic science; Forensic sciences; geographic origin; Geography; Haplotypes; hypervariable region 1; Mitochondrial DNA; mixed and pure breed studies; Sequence Analysis, DNA; sequence variation; trace evidence
• ISSN: 0022-1198; 1556-4029
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1556-4029.2007.00615.x

:  The 608‐bp hypervariable region 1 (HV1) sequences from 36 local dogs were analyzed to characterize the population genetic structure of canid mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Sixteen haplotypes were identified. A 417‐bp segment of this sequence was compared with GenBank sequences from a geographically representative sample of 201 dogs, two coyotes, and two wolves. Sixty‐six haplotypes were identified including 62 found only in domestic dogs. Fourteen of these correspond to the 16 local haplotypes and were among the most frequent haplotypes. The local sample was judged to be representative of the much broader geographic sample. No correlation was observed between local haplotypes and the owner’s characterization of dog breed. A 60‐bp variation “hotspot” within the canid HV1 was identified as a potentially valuable molecular tool, particularly for assaying limited or degraded DNA samples.