LA COMPLESSITÀ IN GENETICA-FORENSE: L’ANALISI DI DNA IN LIMITATA QUANTITÀ (LOW COPY NUMBER DNA) E L’INTERPRETAZIONE DI TRACCE COMMISTE

The improvement, in the last twenty-five years, of PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction)-
based methods allows the analysis of virtually any biological stain, even if minimal.
However, since PCR can originate artifacts, there are still several concerns about the
interpretation of genetic profiles obtained from limited amounts of DNA (Low Copy
Number -LCN) and from mixed stains. Although several softwares have been developed
and validated, there is not yet an international agreement about the best approach to
deal with the interpretation of this kind of complex profiles.