Dataset Information

Identification of sample donor by 24-plex short tandem repeat in a post-race equine plasma containing dexamethasone.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Animal sport such as horseracing is tainted with drug abuse as are human sports. Treatment of racehorses on race day with therapeutic medications in most cases is banned, and thus, it is essential to monitor the illicit use of drugs in the racing horse to maintain integrity of racing, ensure fair competition and protect the health, safety and welfare of the horse, jockeys and drivers. In the event of a dispute over the identity of the sample donor, if the regulator can provide evidence that the DNA genotype profile of the post-race sample matched that of the alleged donor, then the potential drug violation case might be easily resolved without legal challenges. CASE DESCRIPTION:We present a case study of a racehorse sample that tested positive for dexamethasone in a post-race plasma sample in Pennsylvania (PA) but the result was challenged by the trainer of the horse. Dexamethasone is a synthetic glucocorticoid widely used in the management of musculoskeletal problems in horses but its presence in the horse during competition is banned by the PA Racing Commissions. The presence of dexamethasone in the post-competition plasma sample was confirmed using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. However, this finding was challenged by the trainer of the horse alleging that the post-race sample was not collected from his/her horse and thus petitioned the Commission to be absolved of any wrong-doing. To resolve the dispute, a DNA test was ordered by the PA Racing Commission to identify the correct donor of the dexamethasone positive sample. For this purpose, a 24-plex short tandem repeat analysis to detect 21 equine markers and three human markers was employed. The results indicated that all the samples tested had identical DNA profiles and thus, it was concluded that the samples were collected from the same horse and that the probability of drawing a false conclusion was approximately zero (1.5?×?10(-15)). CONCLUSIONS:The plasma sample confirmed for the presence of dexamethasone was collected from the alleged horse.

SUBMITTER: Chen JW

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3935034 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Identification of sample donor by 24-plex short tandem repeat in a post-race equine plasma containing dexamethasone.

Chen Jin-Wen JW Uboh Cornelius E CE Soma Lawrence R LR You Youwen Y Jiang Zibin Z Li Xiaoqing X Guan Fuyu F Liu Ying Y

SpringerPlus 20140217

<h4>Background</h4>Animal sport such as horseracing is tainted with drug abuse as are human sports. Treatment of racehorses on race day with therapeutic medications in most cases is banned, and thus, it is essential to monitor the illicit use of drugs in the racing horse to maintain integrity of racing, ensure fair competition and protect the health, safety and welfare of the horse, jockeys and drivers. In the event of a dispute over the identity of the sample donor, if the regulator can provide ...[more]

PMID: 24600547

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Project description:In recent years, influenced by the legalization of Cannabis sativa in some countries and regions, the number of people who smoke or abuse C. sativa has continuously grown, cases of transnational C. sativa trafficking have also been increasing. Therefore, fast and accurate identification and source tracking of C. sativa have become urgent social needs. In this study, we developed a new 19-plex short tandem repeats (STRs) typing system for C. sativa, which includes 15 autosomal STRs (D02-CANN1, C11-CANN1, 4910, B01-CANN1, E07-CANN1, 9269, B05-CANN1, H06-CANN2, 5159, nH09, CS1, ANUCS 305, 3735, and ANUCS 302 and 9043), two X-chromosome STRs (ANUCS 501 and 1528), one sex-determining marker (DM016, on Y-chromosome), and a quality control marker (DM029, on autosome). The whole polymerase chain reaction (PCR) process could finish within 1 h, making the system suitable for fast detection. The PCR products were detected and separated with an Applied Biosystems 3500XL Genetic Analyser. Developmental validation studies indicated that the 19-plex typing system was accurate, reliable and sensitive, which could also deconvolute mixed C. sativa samples. Specifically, the sensitivity study showed that a full genotyping profile was obtainable with as low as 125 pg of C. sativa DNA. The species specificity study demonstrated that this multiplex has no cross-reactivity with common non C. sativa DNA. In the population study, a total of 162 alleles at 15 autosomal STRs and 14 alleles at two X-chromosome STRs were detected among 85 samples. The efficiency parameters, including the total discrimination power (TDP) and the combined power of exclusion (CPE) of the system, were calculated to exceed 0.999 999 999 999 988 and 0.998 455 889 684 078, respectively, further proving that the system could meet the needs of individual identification. To the extent of the known studies, this is the first study that included the C. sativa sex-determining marker. In conclusion, the developed new 19-plex STR typing system can successfully achieve the purposes of species identification, gender determination, and individual identification, which could be a powerful tool in tracing trade routes of particular drug syndicates or dealers or in linking certain C. sativa to a crime scene.

Dataset Information

Identification of sample donor by 24-plex short tandem repeat in a post-race equine plasma containing dexamethasone.

Publications

Identification of sample donor by 24-plex short tandem repeat in a post-race equine plasma containing dexamethasone.

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