Analysis of paternity exclusions in the material collected by the Department of Forensic Medicine, Medical University of Bialystok in 2008–2017

Aim of the study
Analysis of frequency and structure of paternity exclusions in the material collected by the Department of Forensic Medicine, Medical University of Bialystok in 2008–2017.

Material and methods
The paper is based on paternity test reports involving alleged father-child-mother trios. In a total of reviewed 958 cases, 187 exclusions were identified. The analysis was carried out on the basis of the results of DNA tests. DNA extraction was performed using QIAamp DNA Mini Kit (Qiagen) and DNA quantitation using Quantifiler Human DNA Quantification Kit and 7500 Real-Time PCR System (Applied Biosystems). AmpFLSTR Identifiler PCR Amplification Kit and a PCR System 9700 thermal cycler (Applied Biosystems) were used for DNA amplification.

Results
Over the analyzed period, the number of paternity tests was nearly halved, whereas the percentage of exclusions in individual years varied significantly (33.9–13.3%), with the average of 26.3%. The highest efficiency of exclusions was observed for D18S51 (0.7166) and FGA (0.7059), and the least effective system was TPOX (0.3048).

Conclusions
The applied set of markers has been demonstrated to be an efficient tool in genetic paternity tests in the context of the recommended rules of exclusion.