Forensic DNA Phenotyping: A Promising Tool to Predict Human Appearance for Forensic Purposes
May 2023
in “
GSC biological and pharmaceutical sciences
”
TLDR Forensic DNA phenotyping is becoming useful for predicting physical traits in criminal investigations but is limited by ethical concerns and incomplete genetic understanding.
Forensic DNA phenotyping (FDP) based on Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) is a technique that can predict an individual's externally visible characteristics (EVCs) such as eye, hair, and skin color from DNA obtained from biological samples. This technique is based on the concept that each individual is genetically unique, with the exception of identical twins. The use of FDP is growing in forensic sciences and is becoming a valuable tool in criminal investigations and individual identification. However, it is not yet routinely used in the forensic science field due to incomplete genetic knowledge of phenotypes. Additionally, its application has raised ethical, social, and legal issues in some countries, which has been a significant barrier to its implementation.
