Analysis of Radiocarbon, Stable Isotopes and DNA in Teeth to Facilitate Identification of Unknown Decedents

Alkass, Kanar; Saitoh, Hisako; Buchholz, Bruce A.; Bernard, Samuel; Holmlund, Gunilla; Senn, David R.; Spalding, Kirsty L.; Druid, Henrik

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0069597

Analysis of Radiocarbon, Stable Isotopes and DNA in Teeth to Facilitate Identification of Unknown Decedents

Journal Article · Mon Jul 29 00:00:00 EDT 2013 · PLoS ONE

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0069597· OSTI ID:1627624

Alkass, Kanar ^[1]; Saitoh, Hisako ^[2]; Buchholz, Bruce A. ^[3]; Bernard, Samuel ^[4]; Holmlund, Gunilla ^[5]; Senn, David R. ^[6]; Spalding, Kirsty L. ^[7]; Druid, Henrik ^[7]

Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm (Sweden); DOE/OSTI
Chiba University, Chiba (Japan)
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States). Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry
University of Lyon, Villeurbanne (France)
National Board of Forensic Medicine, Linkoping (Sweden)
University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, TX (United States)
Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm (Sweden)

The characterization of unidentified bodies or suspected human remains is a frequent and important task for forensic investigators. However, any identification method requires clues to the person’s identity to allow for comparisons with missing persons. If such clues are lacking, information about the year of birth, sex and geographic origin of the victim, is particularly helpful to aid in the identification casework and limit the search for possible matches. We present here results of stable isotope analysis of ¹³C and ¹⁸O, and bomb-pulse ¹⁴C analyses that can help in the casework. The ¹⁴C analysis of enamel provided information of the year of birth with an average absolute error of 1.8±1.3 years. We also found that analysis of enamel and root from the same tooth can be used to determine if the ¹⁴C values match the rising or falling part of the bomb-curve. Enamel laydown times can be used to estimate the date of birth of individuals, but here we show that this detour is unnecessary when using a large set of crude ¹⁴C data of tooth enamel as a reference. The levels of ¹³C in tooth enamel were higher in North America than in teeth from Europe and Asia, and Mexican teeth showed even higher levels than those from USA. DNA analysis was performed on 28 teeth, and provided individual-specific profiles in most cases and sex determination in all cases. In conclusion, these analyses can dramatically limit the number of possible matches and hence facilitate person identification work.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: National Center for Research Resources; National Institute of General Medical Sciences; National Institutes of Health; Swedish Strategic Research Council (SSF); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC52-07NA27344

OSTI ID:: 1627624

Journal Information:: PLoS ONE, Journal Name: PLoS ONE Journal Issue: 7 Vol. 8; ISSN 1932-6203

Publisher:: Public Library of ScienceCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
DNA analysis
DNA extraction
dentin
diet
geography
radioactive carbon dating
stable isotopes
teeth

Analysis of Radiocarbon, Stable Isotopes and DNA in Teeth to Facilitate Identification of Unknown Decedents

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References (45)

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