BIOCHEMISTRY - KSRCAS

Spot a Human by The Hair Protein

Highlights:

•Scientists study the effectiveness of using protein profile of hair strands for identifying humans

•DNA from biological samples could be damaged due to heat and light.

•Database of protein biomarkers to be created for identification and creation of protein profile.

•Single strand of hair can be used to trace out an individual from millions.

The protein in the hair can hold a lot of information and can be uniquely used to identify humans, according to a study by Dr Glendon Parker from The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, USA. ‘A strand of hair can be used to trace an individual.’

Nuclear DNA is unique for every individual and was considered an ideal marker for human identification, however, the stability of the DNA can be affected by

•        Heat

•        Light

•        Moisture

This renders the nuclear DNA useless in identifying individuals in certain instances. When biological samples are available for analysis but DNA data cannot be relied on, protein analysis can be used to identify humans.

Robustness of Protein in Analysis

Identification of humans based on biological samples is a very useful technique in the field of forensics as well as in archaeology. They aid in uniquely spotting humans who have been at a particular place. Though DNA can be used for identification purposes, the biological samples may have had to undergo the vagaries of nature, which erodes its ability to keep the DNA intact.

This raises the need for a better analysis technique that utilizes the biological sample available to single out an individual. To test the efficiency in identification, the researchers took bioarcheological hair samples that were from six different people. The samples were expected to be 250 years old and were from London graves, protein markers were successfully isolated from these samples. The list of markers was further increased by obtaining a total of 185 markers from 76 living individuals from European and African descent.

Process of Analysis

The protein present in the hair samples are extracted and then broken down into peptides which are smaller chains of amino acids. The sequence of the peptides are detected, separated and quantified using liquid chromatography and mass spectroscopy. Using this process, single amino acid polymorphisms were detected and a database created with the data available which can be used to create a protein profile.

USES

This technique can be used in identifying

•        Suspects in murder or crime scenes

•        Understanding human movement across the globe

•        Identifying victims in natural disasters

•        Identifying war victims

•        Identifying bodies in mass graves

•        Determining if an individual entered a room or capacity

•        Tracing missing babies/children to their parents

There are a number of ways this technique can be used to uniquely spot an individual from millions, based on proteins present on a single strand of hair. This study can change the way people look at hair and the secrets they hold.

Reference:

1.           New Role for Hair in Human Idetification - (https:str.llnl.gov/july-2015/hart)

By

Dr. A. Praveena

Assistant Professor

Department of Biochemistry