Minimally invasive skeletal sampling for STR-based human identification in degraded marine remains

Abstract The identification of unknown skeletal remains represents a fundamental humanitarian and ethical obligation, particularly in mass fatality events and migration-related disasters, including routine forensic investigations and missing persons cases. DNA analysis is essential in these contexts, yet current sampling methods often rely on invasive procedures that compromise skeletal integrity and conflict with cultural and ethical norms. Despite major advances in forensic DNA analysis, validated strategies for minimally invasive genomic sampling in humanitarian contexts remain limited. In this study, we evaluate two minimally invasive approaches for short tandem repeat (STR) profiling -auditory ossicles and petrous bone micro-sampling- on 40 skeletal elements recovered from victims of the April 18, 2015, Mediterranean Sea shipwreck. Both strategies yield complete and high-quality (auditory ossicles) or near-complete (petrous bone micro-sampling) STR profiles while preserving cranial integrity, enabling anthropological assessment and respectful restitution. These findings demonstrate that minimally invasive genomic sampling can deliver reliable genetic data under challenging post-mortem and environmental conditions, supporting its integration into identification protocols worldwide. These findings support the implementation of minimally invasive skeletal sampling strategies in disaster victim identification workflows involving highly degraded remains.