ISHS XII International Conference on Grapevine Breeding and Genetics Early detection of Plasmopara viticola-infected leaves through FT-ICR-MS metabolic profiling

Background/Objectives: Genetic identification of human skeletal remains plays a pivotal role in forensic investigations when other traditional or primary methods are not appropriate. Decomposition, storage and environmental conditions often leave the skeletal structure as the only basis for identification. This review synthesizes current methodologies and technological advances in damaged DNA extraction and analysis, emphasizing the forensic relevance of skeletal remains for genetic identification. Methods: A comprehensive literature analysis highlights the basis of genetic identification; sampling that considers intrinsic and extrinsic factors influencing the DNA yield and its quality; pre-treatment methods; extraction protocols that are suitable for its sensitivity; genetic marker panels that allow for human identification; and statistical evaluation and analysis of the results. The last chapter demonstrates the real-world impact of genetic identification on historical cases, underscoring its broader significance in legal, humanitarian, and socio-historical contexts, supporting a critical evaluation of best practices, methodological robustness, and ethical considerations within the field. Results: Teeth, femur and the petrous portion of temporal bone are the main samples used for genetic analysis. STR profiling and mitochondrial DNA are the gold standard markers for skeletal human identification. Minimally destructive protocols that enhance a high DNA yield are chosen, with silica-based methods being highlighted in the extraction protocols. Next-Generation Sequencing techniques have also improved analytical outcomes, by enabling high-throughput data generation, increased coverage depth, nucleotide-level sequence data, and high-level multiplexing of genetic targets. Conclusions: This review provides a comprehensive framework for researchers and practitioners seeking to optimize genetic identification workflows in forensic sciences and bioarcheology. These methodological advances have significantly increased identification success rates, especially in cases involving degraded or limited skeletal remains. Reviews such as this one help us to identify methodological gaps, ethical concerns, and future research directions, thereby establishing best practices when working with highly degraded skeletal material, supporting more reliable, standardized, and legally defensible applications of genetic identification in forensic, archeological, and humanitarian contexts.

Background/Objectives: Microhaplotypes have emerged as promising genetic markers for forensic applications, combining low mutation rates with high polymorphic information. However, population data remain limited for several regions, including Portugal. This study aimed to generate population data for the Ion AmpliSeq™ MH-74 panel in a Portuguese population and evaluate its performance for forensic identification and kinship analysis. Methods: A total of 237 unrelated individuals were genotyped using massively parallel sequencing on the Ion GeneStudio S5 platform. Allele frequencies and forensic parameters were estimated. Population structure was assessed using principal component analysis (PCA) based on reference data from MicroHapDB. Kinship performance was evaluated through simulations of full siblings, half siblings, and first cousins and compared with STR markers using likelihood ratios (LR) and error rates. Results: The MH-74 panel showed high genetic diversity (mean He = 0.615; mean PIC = 0.565) and strong forensic efficiency, with very high combined power of discrimination and exclusion and a random match probability of 3.86 × 10⁻⁵⁵. PCA revealed clustering consistent with global population structure, with the Portuguese population grouping within European populations. Microhaplotypes produced higher log₁₀(LR) values for related pairs compared to STRs, particularly for closer relationships, with lower false negative rates. Conclusions: The MH-74 panel demonstrates high discriminatory power and reliable performance for kinship analysis in the Portuguese population, supporting the use of microhaplotypes as an effective complement to STR markers in forensic genetics.