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Interpreting DNA Mixtures in Structured Populations

NCJ Number
182671
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 44 Issue: 5 Dated: September 1999 Pages: 987-995
Author(s)
James M. Curran Ph.D.; Christopher M. Triggs Ph.D.; John Buckleton Ph.D.; B. S. Weir Ph.D.
Editor(s)
R. E. Gaensslen Ph.D.
Date Published
1999
Length
9 pages
Annotation
DNA profiles from multiple-contributor samples are interpreted by comparing the probabilities of the profiles under alternative propositions.
Abstract
The propositions may specify some known contributors to the sample and may also specify a number of unknown contributors. The probability of the alleles carried by the set of people, known or unknown, depends on the allelic frequencies and also on any relationships among the people. Membership of the same sub-population implies a relationship from a shared evolutionary history, and this effect is incorporated into the probabilities. This acknowledgement of the effects of population structures requires consideration of all people in a sub-population who are typed, whether or not they contributed to the sample. The effects of population structure are analyzed in an appendix that contains six case examples. 13 references and 1 table