Research Progress on the Forensic Applications of Human Nucleic Acids in High‑ Temperature Environments

doi:10.12116/j.issn.1004-5619.2025.550103

Abstract

Abstract:

DNA identification technology is widely used in forensic individual identification and kinship analysis. However, the high-temperature environment of fire scenes often causes severe DNA degradation, compromising its evidentiary value. Recent studies have found that certain nucleic acid molecules exhibit significant advantages in high-temperature degraded samples due to their unique biological characteristics. Compared with autosomal STRs, some loci of Y-chromosomal STRs （Y-STRs） have shorter amplicons. During the random breakage of DNA strands induced by high-temperature, the use of Y-STRs can effectively reduce the probability that breakpoints occur within the core repeat regions, which significantly improves the success rate of genotyping. Mitochondrial DNA （mtDNA） maintains a stable detection rate even under high-temperature conditions due to its high copy number and double-stranded closed structure. Although microRNAs （miRNAs） cannot be used for individual identification, their high stability allows them to persist at relatively high levels in high-temperature environments, providing a novel molecular tool for estimating the postmortem interval. This paper systematically reviews the genotyping efficiency of nuclear genomic DNA and mtDNA under high-temperature conditions and the factors affecting their performance. It summarizes the regulatory effect of high-temperature on tissue miRNA expression profiles and integrates the mechanisms and contributing factors of heat-induced nucleic acid damage, with the aim of providing a reference for improving the evidentiary value of nucleic acid evidence recovered from fire scenes.

Key words: forensic genetics, high-temperature environment, nucleic acid degradation, Y-chromosomal STR （Y-STR）, mitochondrial DNA （mtDNA）, microRNA （miRNA）, review

CLC Number:

Xiaotong Wang, Zirui Lu, Junyi Di, Jing Jin, Binjie Li, Yuejun Song, Jinzhuan Zhang, Xuejun Li. Research Progress on the Forensic Applications of Human Nucleic Acids in High‑ Temperature Environments[J]. Journal of Forensic Medicine, 2026, 42(4): 359-365.

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URL: http://www.fyxzz.cn/EN/10.12116/j.issn.1004-5619.2025.550103

http://www.fyxzz.cn/EN/Y2026/V42/I4/359

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References 45

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核酸类型	核酸来源	受热条件及应用	文献
常染色体DNA	血液、唾液	150 ℃加热20 min，DNA浓度较初始水平降低约50%；200 ℃加热20 min，可使DNA浓度降低约75%	[4]
	血液	180 ℃加热20 min或加热至220 ℃以上，无法获得DNA分型图谱	[8]
Y染色体DNA	血液、唾液	200 ℃加热20 min，Y-STR降解程度比常染色体STR轻	[14]
	牙齿	300 ℃及以下温度加热2 min，Y-STR位点均可检出	[6]
mtDNA	牙齿	500~600 ℃加热60 min，mtDNA成功扩增	[18]
	骨骼	700 ℃加热90 min，mtDNA成功扩增	[19]
	骨骼	900 ℃加热5 min，可提取到mtDNA	[20]
miRNA	烧伤的小鼠皮肤	小鼠于100 ℃受热4 s致皮肤Ⅱ度烧伤后处死，miR-711和miR-183-3p表达升高，且在死后120 h内保持稳定；而死后烧伤不影响两者的表达	[27-28]

核酸类型	核酸来源	受热条件及应用	文献
常染色体DNA	血液、唾液	150 ℃加热20 min，DNA浓度较初始水平降低约50%；200 ℃加热20 min，可使DNA浓度降低约75%	[4]
	血液	180 ℃加热20 min或加热至220 ℃以上，无法获得DNA分型图谱	[8]
Y染色体DNA	血液、唾液	200 ℃加热20 min，Y-STR降解程度比常染色体STR轻	[14]
	牙齿	300 ℃及以下温度加热2 min，Y-STR位点均可检出	[6]
mtDNA	牙齿	500~600 ℃加热60 min，mtDNA成功扩增	[18]
	骨骼	700 ℃加热90 min，mtDNA成功扩增	[19]
	骨骼	900 ℃加热5 min，可提取到mtDNA	[20]
miRNA	烧伤的小鼠皮肤	小鼠于100 ℃受热4 s致皮肤Ⅱ度烧伤后处死，miR-711和miR-183-3p表达升高，且在死后120 h内保持稳定；而死后烧伤不影响两者的表达	[27-28]