Analysis of the Polymerase Chain Reaction-Based DNA Testing Data from the College of American Pathologists’ Forensic Identity and Parentage Identity Proficiency Testing Programs
Theodore D. Anderson, Rhonda K. Roby, and Victor W. Weedn
Department of Defense DNA Registry, Office of the Armed Forces Medical Examiner,
Rockville, MD
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A significant component of any quality assurance program for laboratories performing forensic and/or parentage deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) testing is participation in a regularly-scheduled, external proficiency testing program. The American Association of Blood Banks (AABB) began the first DNA proficiency testing program by adding a DNA module to the 1991 Parentage Specimen Program (PSP). Initially, most crime laboratories performed external proficiency testing through sample exchanges with neighboring laboratories or through participation in the PSP. In 1993, the DNA module of the PSP was replaced with the AABB/College of American Pathologists (CAP) co-sponsored Parentage Identity (PI) Proficiency Testing Program. In that same year, the CAP began to offer the Forensic Identity (FID) DNA Proficiency Testing Program. In mid-1997, the CAP will offer the DNA Database Proficiency Testing Program, a survey designed to proficiency test DNA database analysts.
Each of these proficiency testing programs allows its participants to report information pertaining to methodology, band sizing data from restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis, and discrete results from polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based DNA testing. The PCR-based DNA testing systems reported by participants of these programs include: reverse dot-blot assays (i.e., Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) DQ
a, AmpliType TM PM); long tandem repeats (i.e., D1S80); and short tandem repeats (e.g., HUMTH01, HUMF13A1, HUMVWA, HUMFES/FPS).The number of participants for each DNA testing system is presented and demonstrates trends in the implementation and application of these DNA testing systems within the forensic and parentage DNA testing communities. In addition, the results of PCR-based DNA testing are compared, to generate concordances and clearly demonstrate the precision of the laboratories performing this testing within the forensic and parentage DNA testing communities. These concordances are also used to evaluate individual DNA testing systems. Finally, the data from the CAP, FID and PI Proficiency Testing Programs are used to compare and contrast the trends of implementation and application as well as the precision of DNA testing between the forensic and parentage DNA testing communities.
This poster presentation will demonstrate the importance of standardization in PCR-based, human identity DNA testing.
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