FAS Abstracts 2004 Meeting Page

Environmental Chemistry & Chemical Sciences A (ENV): ENV-7

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Assessment and in vitro repair of damaged DNA templates.  A. HALL (1,3) and J. BALLANTYNE (1,2,3).  (1) Graduate Program in Biomolecular Science, University of Central Florida, PO Box 162366, Orlando, FL 32816-2366, (2) Department of Chemistry, University of Central Florida, PO Box 162366, Orlando, FL 32816-2366, (3) National Center for Forensic Science, PO Box 162367, Orlando, FL 32816-2367.  DNA extracted from biological stains is often intractable to forensic analysis. Remedies may be available to the forensic scientist to deal with causative factors such as LCN templates and soluble inhibitors but none presently exist for damaged DNA.  In fact, knowledge of the biochemical nature and the extent of DNA damage in physiological stains is rudimentary at best. The primary aims of this work were first ascertain the types of DNA damage encountered in forensically relevant stains, correlating the occurrence this damage with the partial or total loss of a genotype, and then to attempt the repair of the damage by means of in vitro DNA repair systems.