Defense Date
2023
Document Type
Directed Research Project
First Advisor
Tal Simmons
Second Advisor
Baneshwar Singh
Third Advisor
Joseph Jones
Abstract
In 1994, during the construction of one of Virginia Commonwealth University’s (VCU) medical science buildings, a well containing human skeletal remains was discovered. The uncovering of what is now referred to as the East Marshall Street Well (EMSW), exposed mid 19th-century medical practices on unlawfully obtained cadavers during a time when grave robbing was widely practiced. A seven – year community consultation concluded with the election of a Family Representative Council (FRC) to provide recommendations on research, commemoration, and dignified burials to honor the individuals whose remains resided in the EMSW.
The aim of this study was to confirm the pair matching of leg bone elements from the ESMW that were previously examined by anthropologists at the Smithsonian, using an Insertion/Null (INNULs) DNA typing method. Human DNA recovered from bone often fails to generate profiles either because of low human DNA quality and quantity or because of presence of PCR inhibitors. For this research, an optimization of a DNA extraction method was performed prior to INNUL typing. In total, three bone sampling methods (scalpel scrapping, dremel sanding, and cut bone sampling) and three different DNA extraction methods (organic, Loreille et al., and InnoGenomics InnoXtractTM Bone Extraction Kit) were compared to test the recovery of DNA quality and quantity on alternative degraded femur bones. Human DNA quantitation was performed using the InnoQuant HY kit on the QuantStudioTM 6 Real-Time PCR. Considering the FRC’s wishes to preserve the intactness of the ancestral remains, the best least destructive method of DNA recovery of highly degraded bones was determined to be the dremel and InnoXtract methods. These methods were used to recovery DNA from the EMSW remains.
The ancestral remains were genotyped using InnoTyper 21 Human DNA typing kit. Out of the total 115 lower limb elements (femora, fibulae, tibiae, innominates and sacrum) only 30 had developed partial profiles. Four bone elements that had been previously pair matched through osteometric methods, were also confidently matched through INNUL typing. Because of the limited results, testing the accuracy of osteometric pair matched leg elements using INNUL markers would need to be further investigated.
Rights
© The Author(s)
Is Part Of
VCU Master of Science in Forensic Science Directed Research Projects
Date of Submission
5-8-2023