CHED 774 |
| DNA samples extracted from crime scene evidence or after long term storage can be severely damaged from environmental agents, dehydration and/or nucleases that are released upon cell death. The central technique for analysis of forensic DNA evidence is the amplification of specific regions of the DNA for use in short tandem repeats (STRs) analysis. However, it is difficult to usefully amplify DNA fragments from limited quantities and/or severely damaged samples. Microbial and higher organisms have evolved mechanisms that repair damaged DNA directly by nucleotide excision repair, base excision repair, homology-based recombination repair, or non-homologous end joining. We characterized the type and extent of DNA damage irradiated with UV-B (wavelength 312 nm) radiation. Normal and alkaline gel electrophoresis results show an increase in single strand breaks with increasing exposure to UV-B radiation. The analysis from the in vitro repair of UV-damaged DNA using a combination of commercially available bacterial repair enzymes will be presented. Acknowledgment: This research was supported by the Department of Defense through the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center in Vicksburg, MS; Contract #W912HZ-06. |
|
Undergraduate Research Poster Session: Biochemistry
2:00 PM-4:00 PM, Monday, April 7, 2008 Morial Convention Center -- Hall A, Poster
Division of Chemical Education |