Category
Basic
Description
This study aimed to generate DNA profiles from the bloody Hillsman House surgical table via STR analysis while also determining the best method of sample collection and analysis from a wooden substrate. During the Battle at Sailor’s Creek in 1865, the historical Hillsman House served as a field hospital where hundreds of Civil War soldiers were treated. In 2016, Jones and McClintock collected and analyzed samples from bloodstains on the floorboards of the house, showing that historical DNA is still viable for profiling. During this process, marks on the floorboard were presumed to be from the surgical table, which was no longer there. The original wooden surgical table was since acquired, and the presumed bloodstains on it were observed. A wooden substrate is difficult to obtain DNA from, so a literature review was performed to optimize collection and extraction methodology. First, stains on the table were visualized using an alternate light source (ALS). Both swabbings and scrapings of the table were collected and stored before presumptive testing with Phenolphthalein, Leucomalachite Green (LMG), and the RSID Blood Kit was performed to determine the presence of blood. The DNA was then extracted with two different extraction kits, the Qiagen Investigator® Lyse & Spin Basket Kit and the Qiagen DNeasy® Blood and Tissue Kit, which were later compared. Quantification of the DNA was done using the NanoDrop® 2000 spectrophotometer before the samples were amplified by PCR and subjected to capillary electrophoresis with the Applied Biosystems® Genetic Analyzer 3500, utilizing two different injection times that were later compared. Resulting electropherograms were analyzed with GeneMapper® ID-X software at 24 loci. Full profiles were able to be developed from the 150-year-old DNA, demonstrating the longevity of viable DNA, which may be used to corroborate historical records. Bloodstains on a wooden substrate proved to be a feasible source for DNA. The comparison of collection and extraction methods has valuable applications in crime labs.
A Bloody Window to the Past: STR Analysis of DNA from a Bloodstained Civil War Surgical Table
Basic
This study aimed to generate DNA profiles from the bloody Hillsman House surgical table via STR analysis while also determining the best method of sample collection and analysis from a wooden substrate. During the Battle at Sailor’s Creek in 1865, the historical Hillsman House served as a field hospital where hundreds of Civil War soldiers were treated. In 2016, Jones and McClintock collected and analyzed samples from bloodstains on the floorboards of the house, showing that historical DNA is still viable for profiling. During this process, marks on the floorboard were presumed to be from the surgical table, which was no longer there. The original wooden surgical table was since acquired, and the presumed bloodstains on it were observed. A wooden substrate is difficult to obtain DNA from, so a literature review was performed to optimize collection and extraction methodology. First, stains on the table were visualized using an alternate light source (ALS). Both swabbings and scrapings of the table were collected and stored before presumptive testing with Phenolphthalein, Leucomalachite Green (LMG), and the RSID Blood Kit was performed to determine the presence of blood. The DNA was then extracted with two different extraction kits, the Qiagen Investigator® Lyse & Spin Basket Kit and the Qiagen DNeasy® Blood and Tissue Kit, which were later compared. Quantification of the DNA was done using the NanoDrop® 2000 spectrophotometer before the samples were amplified by PCR and subjected to capillary electrophoresis with the Applied Biosystems® Genetic Analyzer 3500, utilizing two different injection times that were later compared. Resulting electropherograms were analyzed with GeneMapper® ID-X software at 24 loci. Full profiles were able to be developed from the 150-year-old DNA, demonstrating the longevity of viable DNA, which may be used to corroborate historical records. Bloodstains on a wooden substrate proved to be a feasible source for DNA. The comparison of collection and extraction methods has valuable applications in crime labs.
