Rootless hair as a reliable source of forensic genetic information

Genome biology 2026 Open access

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Authors: Joshua D. Kapp, Ciara Wanket, Remy Nguyen, Talia Tzadikario, Hayley Neadeau, Beth Shapiro, Samuel Sacco, Camille Schwartz, Cristina Valencia, Kelly M. Harkins, Richard E. Green
DOI: 10.1186/s13059-026-03981-8
Cited by: 2
References: 35

Abstract

The small amount of fragmented DNA present in rootless hair shafts is unsuitable for many assays, including most PCR-based assays. Thus, rootless hair DNA is often overlooked in biomedical and forensic analysis. Here we apply methods for efficient recovery and sequencing of minute quantities of short, fragmented DNA to single human hair shafts. Using this approach, we characterize DNA fragments in hair shafts. Despite the small quantities of fragmented DNA, we find multi-fold genome coverage can be generated from a few centimeters of most hair shafts - enough to generate accurate genotype calls and statistically compelling evidence for identity or non-identity.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Forensic and Genetic Research Molecular Biology Techniques and Applications Animal Genetics and Reproduction

Publication details

Journal / source
Genome biology
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Volume
27
Issue
1
Publication date
18 February 2026
Language
EN