Democratizing DNA Fingerprinting

• NCJ Number: 311207
• Author(s): Sophie Zaaijer; Assaf Gordon; Robert Piccone; Daniel Speyer; Yaniv Erlich
• Date Published: July 2016
• Grant Number(s): 2014-DN-BX-K089
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Justice (NIJ)
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Country: United States of America

Abstract

We report a rapid, inexpensive, and portable strategy to re-identify human DNA using the MinION, a miniature sequencing sensor by Oxford Nanopore Technologies. Our strategy requires only 10-30 minutes of MinION sequencing, works with low input DNA, and enables familial searches. We also show that it can re-identify individuals from Direct-to-Consumer genomic datasets that are publicly available. We discuss potential forensic applications as well as the legal and ethical implications of a democratized DNA fingerprinting strategy available to the public.

(Publisher abstract provided.)