Method for detecting the presence of a DNA minor contributor in a DNA mixture

A method of detecting the presence of a DNA minor contributor in a DNA mixture by determining several haplotypes present in one or more DNA samples, each haplotype containing a short tandem repeat (STR) locus and a deletion insertion polymorphism (DIP) locus, comprising:

• i) determining the DIP genotype of the major DNA contributor in order to select suitable DIP primers for a specific amplification of the minor DNA contributor,
• ii) contacting said at least one or more DNA samples to be analyzed with a set of primers selected from the group consisting of a primer specific to the STR locus, a primer overlapping the short allele of the DIP locus (S-DIP), a primer overlapping the long allele of the DIP locus (L-DIP), and a combination of two or more of these primers,
• iii) amplifying the DNA mixture, for each DIP-STR locus, with the L-DIP, S-blocking primer and STR primers when the major contributor is SS, or with the S-DIP, L-blocking primer and STR primers when the major contributor is LL, wherein resulting amplicons, when present, correspond to the DIP-STR haplotype of the minor contributor,
• iv) evaluating the amplified amplicons in the DNA mixture to determine the haplotypes present at each of the loci analyzed in the set within the minor contributor and evaluating the match with the samples collected for comparison.