Evaluation of the IrisPlex eye colour prediction tool in a German population sample

The prediction of externally visible characteristics like hair, skin and eye colour from biological material of an individual becomes more and more important in forensic genetics particularly in cases in which a standard tandem repeat (STR) profiling failed. Liu et al. and Walsh et al. recently published a multiplex SNaPshot assay, named IrisPlex. The IrisPlex assay was described as a sensitive tool for accurate prediction of blue and brown eye colour. In our present study we evaluated the IrisPlex eye colour prediction tool in 102 individuals of a German population sample as well as in 81 individuals from Turkey, East Asia and Africa. The applicability of the IrisPlex was verified in a case study with highly degraded DNA of an exhumed skeleton. The IrisPlex prediction probabilities revealed a blue eye colour for the unknown person and a probable European descent. The IrisPlex works reliable and the prediction results are plausible. Due to its easy handling and robust design the IrisPlex is capable to be implemented in the forensic case work to provide first information of an unknown person for which no phenotypic information is available. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.