Verogen & Gene by Gene unite to accelerate forensic DNA analysis

Verogen, a sequencing company, and Gene by Gene, a commercial genetic testing company, have recently announced a collaboration to drive the adoption of forensic investigative genetic genealogy.

Under this agreement, the parent company of FamilyTreeDNA, Gene by Gene, will assist DNA uploads generated from the ForenSeq Kintelligence kit of Verogen, the only ANAB-certified technology authorized for (FIGG) forensic investigative genetic genealogy.

As part of this agreement, the number of profiles accessible for FIGG matching is effectively doubled. The scientists from both organizations will use their database expertise to develop superior algorithms and software to help increase the probability of producing uploadable SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) profiles and reduce bioinformatic costs, allowing standardization of the FIGG workflow.

For the unversed, FIGG is a DNA-based investigative lead-generation methodology that utilizes genotyping and next-gen sequencing technologies to discover culprits of violent crime, acquit the innocent, and identify missing persons.

Apparently, only Gene by Gene's genealogical database and Verogen's GEDmatch database can facilitate FIGG and have assisted in resolving approximately 500 cold cases, which were previously considered unresolvable.

Through the recent collaboration, Verogen and Gene by Gene aim to ensure that all uploads comply with the conditions set forth by the companies, such as the requirements to opt-in to the genetic witness program to appear as a familial connection and standardize bioinformatic methods and analysis options.

Commenting on the move, Brett Williams, CEO (Chief Executive Officer), Verogen, stated that the company is working to provide top-class, operationally significant DNA sequencing workflows to forensic laboratories via its innovations and strategic collaborations that expand its offerings.

The introduction of ForenSeq Kintelligence offers public crime labs a cost-effective solution that lowers broad medical privacy concerns and is in line with forensic quality assurance standards.

According to Williams, this partnership would significantly change efficiency and analysis time by deploying database context to build top-class toolsets used in common methods like imputation and empowering the laboratories to upload ForenSeq Kintelligence profiles to the Gene by Gene database.

Source credit - https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220815005116/en/Verogen-and-Gene-by-Gene-Form-Groundbreaking-Partnership-to-Accelerate-Adoption-of-Forensic-Investigative-Genetic-Genealogy