Establishing a method for the forensic determination of the point of time of a crime based on circadian gene expression oscillation

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Cornelius Courts
• Subject Area: Toxicology, Laboratory Medicine ; Pathology
• Term: since 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 453376443

Since first being mentioned in 1984 and most notably driven by the introduction of quantitative PCR (qPCR) in 1996, interest in and impact of forensic RNA analysis steadily increased. RNA-based trace contextualization is of special importance in forensic science which is reflected by the results of several international proficiency trials and the fact that it is alreadyroutinely used in forensic casework in some countries, since recently including Germany.But RNA analytical methods also lend themselves to certain thanatological and forensic medical diagnostic issues, e.g. to determine the post-mortem interval or to identify the cause of death that could not be identified by medico-legal autopsy. Since the recent introduction of high-troughputmassive parallel sequencing (MPS) technologies enabling whole transcriptome sequencing RNA analysis got even more powerful and versatile. For this follow-up project, we plan to employ specific RNA markers that had been selected biasfree via whole transcriptome analysis by MPS within the scope of the starting grant to establish a casework applicable targeted sequencing method for a statistically valid determination of deposition time of day of blood traces as well as the simultaneous trace individualization in mixture deconvolution.In summary, the aim of our project is to contribute to laying the foundation for a comprehensive RNA based forensic genetic methodological framework that is complementary to and compatible with standard DNA-profiling and can be applied in parallel for the reconstruction and contextualization of vital aspects of crimes and other issues of forensic relevance. As a long-term objective, this is intended to encourage widespread establishment and routine application of highly versatile RNA based analytical methods in forensic casework.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants