ABSTRACT
The ability to designate whether a sample originated from a male or female contributor is extremely valuable in sexual assault cases as well as in other capital cases. The most popular method for sex typing is the amelogenin typing system since the DNA encoding gender can be amplified in conjunction with STR analysis. However, in some instances, STR and amelogenin analysis is not adequate when multiple males contribute to an evidentiary sample (e.g., a blood sample containing DNA from more than one male). Recently, Y-STR analysis has become available to the forensic community and has provided identification where STR analysis was not definitive.
