Body fluid identification using mRNA profiling

Abstract

RNA analysis is a valuable tool for the identification of the forensically relevant body fluids, saliva, blood, menstrual blood, cervicovaginal fluid, and semen. Multiple human mRNA and bacterial RNA markers have been identified for each of these body fluids. RNA and DNA can be coextracted from the same portion of a sample and RNA markers for different body fluids can be multiplexed in a single PCR, thereby maximizing the number of analyses that can be performed with limited sample material.