Features and Benefits

Over the past several decades, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has played an increasingly important role in forensic analyses of various criminal cases. A few hairs left at a crime scene contain enough mtDNA for extraction. The hair shaft, which protrudes out of the scalp, does not contain any nuclear DNA. It does, however, contain mtDNA. While nuclear DNA is present in only two copies per cell, the small circular mtDNA molecule is present in hundreds to thousands of copies per cell making it very abundant. Mitochondrial DNA is maternally inherited, and all of a woman’s offspring will have the same mtDNA profile. An advantage of this is that a single maternal relative of that person may provide a reference sample for comparison to a sample found at a crime scene.

Norgen’s Hair Mitochondrial DNA Isolation Kit provides a fast, reliable, and simple procedure for isolating mtDNA from hair shafts. Purification is based on spin column chromatography and the DNA is preferentially purified from other components. Typical yields will vary depending on the sample input volume used. The purified DNA is compatible with all downstream applications including PCR and NGS.

Details

Supporting Data

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Figure 1. Comparison of mitochondrial DNA Isolation kit for Hyper Variable Region (HRV) PCR amplification. DNA was isolated from hair shafts using Norgen's Mitochondrial DNA Isolation kit (Cat. 69400) and competitor kit. A) 610 bp HVR I was amplified only from one of DNA samples isolated by Norgen kit while competitor showing no PCR product. B) 415 bp HVR II was amplified more consistently with Norgen kit than the competitor, indicating the robust performance isolating a high quality of mitochondrial DNA from hair shafts. 

Figure 1. PCR amplification of mitochondrial DNA Hyper Variable Region (HRV) from seven hair shaft samples (S1-S7). Hair shaft mitochondrial DNA was isolated using Norgen's Mitochondrial DNA Isolation kit (Cat. 69400) and Mitochondrial DNA Hypervariable Region I and II PCR Amplification Kit (Cat.52800). A) 610 bp HVR I and B) 415 bp HVR II were successfully amplified from the mitochondrial DNA isolated,  indicating the robust performance for the isolation and amplification ng a high quality of mitochondrial DNA from hair shafts. 

Figure 3. Origin of haplogroups around the world, based on mtDNA

Figure 4. Example of mutation and haplogroup match genetic analysis.   According to the mutation found it matches haplogroup; T that has its origins in the Near East. The haplogroup T2e and T2e1 are affiliated with Sephardic Jews and is estimated to be of Western and Mediterranean European descent. 

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