Stone A C, Starrs J E, Stoneking M
Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, USA.
J Forensic Sci. 2001 Jan;46(1):173-6.
We report here the results of mtDNA analysis of remains exhumed in July, 1995 from Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Kearney, Nebraska, that are thought to be those of Jesse James. The remains were poorly preserved, presumably due to wet and slightly acidic soil conditions, and insufficient DNA for analysis was obtained from two bone samples. However, two of four teeth, and two hairs recovered in 1978 from the original burial site on the James Farm, did yield reproducible mtDNA sequences. These mtDNA sequences from the teeth and hairs were all identical, suggesting that they came from the same individual; furthermore, this mtDNA sequence was identical to mtDNA sequences determined from blood samples from two maternal relatives of Jesse James. Therefore, either the remains are indeed those of Jesse James, or they are from an unrelated individual who, by chance, happens to have the same mtDNA sequence. To assess the probability that an unrelated individual would have the same sequence, we searched the forensic mtDNA database, and found that this sequence does not appear among the 2426 mtDNA sequences therein. Hence, the mtDNA analysis supports the identification of the exhumed remains from Mt. Olivet Cemetery as those of Jesse James.
我们在此报告对1995年7月从内布拉斯加州科尔尼市橄榄山公墓挖掘出的遗体进行线粒体DNA（mtDNA）分析的结果，这些遗体被认为是杰西·詹姆斯的。遗体保存状况不佳，推测是由于潮湿且略带酸性的土壤条件所致，从两份骨骼样本中获取的用于分析的DNA不足。然而，从四颗牙齿中的两颗以及1978年从詹姆斯农场原始埋葬地点找到的两根毛发中，确实得到了可重复的mtDNA序列。这些来自牙齿和毛发的mtDNA序列完全相同，表明它们来自同一个体；此外，这个mtDNA序列与从杰西·詹姆斯的两位母系亲属的血液样本中确定的mtDNA序列相同。因此，要么这些遗体确实是杰西·詹姆斯的，要么它们来自一个无关个体，只是碰巧具有相同的mtDNA序列。为了评估一个无关个体具有相同序列的概率，我们搜索了法医mtDNA数据库，发现该序列未出现在其中的2426个mtDNA序列中。因此，mtDNA分析支持将从橄榄山公墓挖掘出的遗体鉴定为杰西·詹姆斯的遗体。
