There are some differences between the international community and the U.S. regarding which STR loci are used. Nevertheless, there are sufficient common loci to permit the sharing of meaningful profile information.

The United Kingdom (U.K.) pioneered forensic DNA testing with programs that began more than 30 years ago. The Forensic Science Service (FSS) began STR testing in 1994 with the Quadruplex system, which consisted of vWA, THO1, FES, and F13A1. This kit was manufactured in-house at the FSS but was not very discriminating. The FSS quickly replaced it with the AmplFSTR® SGM™ (Second Generation Multiplex) kit. This kit consisted of six STR loci (D8S1179, THO1, vWA, D21S11, FGA, and D18S51) and amelogenin, with an estimated discriminating power of 1 in 50 million.03, 04

The AmplFSTR® SGM™ provided the core loci used when the U.K. established its National DNA Database in 1995. Further STR/database developments included the extension of the six STR loci used for crime stain analysis in 1996 and the subsequent adoption of the six STR loci by ENSFI.05

As the number of samples in the database increased to well over a million, the chances of a coincidental match between unrelated individuals became too great, as was illustrated in a 1999 case. A man with advanced Parkinson's disease, (unable to drive a car or dress himself without assistance) was linked to a burglary that occurred a great distance from his home. After he was arrested, it was apparent that his physical condition would have made it impossible for him to have committed the crime.

Across Europe, ENFSI (through the European DNA Profiling Group, or EDNAP) continuously meets to evaluate the needs of the European Forensic Community and in 2009 decided on the use of twelve common loci for their core STRs:

• D1S1656
• D2S441
• D3S1358
• FGA
• D8S1179
• D10S1248
• TH01
• vWA
• D12S391
• D18S51
• D21S11
• D22S1045

The addition of core loci was been implemented due to the increases in the size of the database.

For similar reasons, in 2015, the FBI announced an expansion of the core CODIS loci from 13 to 20.

• CSF1PO
• FGA
• THO1
• TPOX
• VWA
• D3S1358
• D5S818
• D7S820
• D8S1179
• D13S317
• D16S539
• D18S51
• D21S11
• D1S1656
• D2S441
• D2S1338
• D10S1248
• D12S391
• D19S433
• D22S1045

Among other reasons, these additional markers were selected due to the increased overlap with the European loci.

The International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) has adopted many of the European and CODIS loci, enabling governments compare samples across countries.

Visit INTERPOL's website.

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