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9-4: STR Identification of a September 11, 2001 Victim

Last updated 8 months ago
15 questions

Objectives

At the end of this activity, you will be able to:
  1. Analyze the STR profiles of the two brothers, their mother, and the remains from the World Trade Center site (thought to be the boys’ father).
  2. Determine if the unknown DNA could be the father of the two brothers.
  3. Summarize how kinship can be established using STR profile analysis.
Scenario: Recollection of September 11

A warm breeze flowed into my sunny biology classroom on the early morning of September 11, 2001. Shortly after 8:46 AM, a frantic fellow teacher ran into my classroom stating that the North Tower of the World Trade Center, the tallest building in New York City, had been struck by an airplane. I turned on the television and my class and I watched in horror as the black, billowing smoke and intense heat spewed out of the upper-story windows. At 9:03 AM, we witnessed a second plane crash into the South Tower of the World Trade Center.

We later learned that four different commercial airplanes had been hijacked by 19 members of al-Qaeda. This was an act of terrorism directed toward the United States. Initially, approximately 3,000 people died as a result of the attacks—people working at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, first responders, airline passengers, and the hijackers. Later estimates attribute more than 6,000 deaths to the initial attack or subsequent illnesses.

Because of the intense heat and the ultimate collapse of the World Trade Center buildings, identification of remains has been very difficult. Only 1,644 of the 2,753 remains have been identified by DNA analysis (as of 2019).
A student, whose father died in the World Trade Center bombings, brought to school the printed DNA STR profiles used to determine if remains found near the World Trade Center could have been his father’s remains. The student had no idea what the graph represented and asked for help in understanding the information.

The student asked if I could explain how this test was done and to determine if the results of the test confirmed the identity of his father. The names have been removed and the numbers were changed to protect his and his family’s privacy. The student requested that I keep the graph and use it to educate others to show how some of the victims of September 11 were identified using DNA.

In this activity, you will review the STR profiles of the World Trade Center DNA remains thought to be the young man’s father along with the STR profiles of his wife and their two sons. Based on this analysis, determine if the remains are indeed the remains of this young man’s father.
1
STR 1:

Son 1 may have inherited the _______ allele from mom and the _______ allele from the unknown DNA sample.

Son 2 may have inherited the _______ allele from mom and the _______ allele from the unknown DNA sample.
1
STR 2:

Son 1 may have inherited the_______
allele from mom and the_______
allele from the unknown DNA sample.

Son 2 may have inherited the_______
allele from mom and the_______
allele from the unknown DNA sample.
1
STR 3:

Son 1 may have inherited the_______
allele from mom and the_______
allele from the unknown DNA sample.

Son 2 may have inherited the_______
allele from mom and the_______
allele from the unknown DNA sample.
1
STR 4:

Son 1 may have inherited the_______
allele from mom and the_______
allele from the unknown DNA sample.

Son 2 may have inherited the_______
allele from mom and the_______
allele from the unknown DNA sample.
1
STR 5:

Son 1 may have inherited the_______
allele from mom and the_______
allele from the unknown DNA sample.

Son 2 may have inherited the _______ allele from mom and the _______ allele from the unknown DNA sample.
1
STR 6:

Son 1 may have inherited the _______ allele from mom and the _______ allele from the unknown DNA sample.

Son 2 may have inherited the _______ allele from mom and the _______ allele from the unknown DNA sample.
1
STR 7

Son 1 may have inherited the _______ allele from mom and the _______ allele from the unknown DNA sample.

Son 2 may have inherited the _______ allele from mom and the _______ allele from the unknown DNA sample.
1
STR 8

Son 1 may have inherited the _______ allele from mom and the _______ allele from the unknown DNA sample.

Son 2 may have inherited the _______ allele from mom and the _______ allele from the unknown DNA sample.
1
STR 9

Son 1 may have inherited the _______ allele from mom and the _______ allele from the unknown DNA sample.

Son 2 may have inherited the _______ allele from mom and the _______ allele from the unknown DNA sample.
1
STR 10

Son 1 may have inherited the _______ allele from mom and the allele _______ from the unknown DNA sample.

Son 2 may have inherited the _______ allele from mom and the allele _______ from the unknown DNA sample.
1
STR 11:

Son 1 may have inherited the _______ allele from mom and the allele _______ from the unknown DNA sample.

Son 2 may have inherited the _______ allele from mom and the allele _______ from the unknown DNA sample.
1
STR 12:

Son 1 may have inherited the _______ allele from mom and the allele _______ from the unknown DNA sample.

Son 2 may have inherited the _______ allele from mom and the allele _______ from the unknown DNA sample.
1
STR 13:

Son 1 may have inherited the _______ allele from mom and the _______ allele from the unknown DNA sample.

Son 2 may have inherited the _______ allele from mom and the _______ allele from the unknown DNA sample.
1

Based on your observations and your analysis of the electropherogram of STR profiles, would you consider the unknown DNA from the World Trade Center site to be the father of Son 1 and Son 2 and the husband of this woman? Support your claim.

1
Refer to the Act 7-4 WKST STR Profiles.

a) Which STR marker had the allele with the highest repeats? Type the # only. _______
b) Which STR marker had the allele with the lowest repeats? Type the # only. _______