Epigenetic Approach in Forensic Age Estimation

Age estimation study is a very important research area that contributes to the solution of the forensic case by helping to identify the identity in forensic sciences. Human age estimation in the traditional way is performed by analysis of bony marks on bones and teeth. An analysis of the age estimation of biological samples from the use of genetic analysis has not yet become part of routine practice. The use of genetic analyses for forensic purposes started with the Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) analysis in the late 1980s and developed with Short Tandem Repeats (STR) analysis. Along with the technological developments in forensic genetics, progress has continued with single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis, which enables the identification of hair, eye and skin color and geographic infrastructure of an unknown sample in forensic case resolution. However, recent studies in forensic genetics have focused on epigenetic mechanisms and it has been discovered that DNA methylation can be used in case resolution for forensic age estimation. With the development of DNA methylation studies, a quantitative statistical relationship has been established between DNA methylation and different age groups. T he r esults have been obtained with ± 3-4 age prediction accuracy using DNA methylation markers (CpG regions) tested to date with different methodological approaches. Thus, with the advancement of epigenetic studies in the fields of forensic sciences, the phenotypic features of the DNA of the evidence samples have been estimated with some error rates. The aim of this study is to reveal the latest developments in the field of epigenetics and evaluation of the use of epigenetic-based age estimates for forensic purposes.