Epigenetic tools in age estimations

• Autor(a) principal: Bastos, Filipa Barbosa
• Data de Publicação: 2021
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10773/33436
• topic: Epigenetics; DNA methylation; CpG dinucleotides; Age estimations; Forensic DNA phenotyping

This work seeks to explore the current state-of-the-art regarding the epigenetic methodologies used for Forensic Age Estimations, especially DNA methylation. Age estimation is an already known and practiced concept in the forensic field through dental, skeletal, and cytological methods. Epigenetics opened new horizons in this field with molecular methods for the study of changes in DNA methylation patterns. DNA methylation occurs in cytosines that are immediately followed by guanines (CpG dinucleotides) and frequently are within CpG rich regions (CpG islands). Using a selected set of CpGs as markers, it is possible to estimate someone’s age through the detected methylation pattern. The major application of this technique is in cases where a sample from the perpetrator (or possible perpetrator) is found on the crime scene and this sample doesn’t have a match on nation DNA databases. In these cases, limiting the pool of suspects to a certain age group, in combination with other externally visible traits that can be predicted from the sample (e.g. eye and hair color), could be very useful in the course of an investigation. Epigenetic age estimation tools, despite being an improvement to the currently used age estimation methodologies, have limitations that should be addressed before implementing these tools in forensic practices. All the ethical and societal issues surrounding this theme are a current motive for discussion and legislation relating to the use of these tools, in most countries, is inexistent.