Make it "SNPPY" - Updates to SRM 2391d: PCR-Based DNA Profiling Standard

Abstract

Standard Reference Material (SRM) 2391d: PCR-Based DNA Profiling Standard was released to the forensic community in 2019. Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) was used as the primary method of certification, where certified values were assigned when a high coverage sequence string was available for a marker. Using NGS to assign values has allowed for additional marker sets beyond short tandem repeat (STR) loci, including single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) whole genome sequences, to be included in the Certificate of Analysis (COA). Since the 2019 release, several commercial NGS panels have become available including the Verogen ForenSeq mtDNA Control Region, mtDNA Whole Genome, MainstAY, and Kintelligence Kits. In addition, three community Ion AmpliSeq panels from Thermo Fisher (MH-74 Plex, VISAGE, and Y-SNP) are now available. While the mtDNA whole genome sequence for the components are already included and no new STR markers are introduced by MainstAY, the other recently released panels allow for the inclusion of > 11,000 additional SNPs (e.g., identity, ancestry, phenotype, kinship, and X- and Y-SNPs) and 74 microhaplotypes to the COA for SRM 2391d in an update completed by fall of 2022.