{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,13]],"date-time":"2026-10-13T00:40:36Z","timestamp":1791852036448,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":25,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,23]],"date-time":"2026-03-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1774224000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100007045","name":"Mexican Government\u2019s Secretar\u00eda de Ciencia, Humanidades, Tecnolog\u00eda e Innovaci\u00f3n","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["CF-2023-G-536"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["CF-2023-G-536"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100007045","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Genes"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Forensic DNA phenotyping (FDP) enables the inference of externally visible characteristics (EVCs) and biogeographic ancestry when conventional STR profiling is inconclusive. The ForenSeq\u2122 Imagen kit (107 SNPs) integrates phenotype-, ancestry-, and Y-SNPs markers; however, its performance under partial genotyping conditions has not been systematically evaluated. Methods: Ninety-four samples from a Mexican mestizo population were analyzed using the ForenSeq\u2122 Imagen kit on the MiSeq FGx\u2122 platform. Due to incomplete genotype recovery, 41 samples with &gt;60% locus detection were selected for downstream analyses. Phenotype prediction was performed using the HIrisPlex-S model, and ancestry inference was assessed through principal component analysis. In silico simulations were conducted to evaluate locus-specific dropout effects. Results: Eye color prediction showed both reduced feasibility (68.3%) and lower overall accuracy (56.1%), primarily driven by systematic prediction failure when rs12913832 (HERC2) was absent, although accuracy among successfully predicted samples remained high (82.1%). In contrast, hair and skin color inference remained feasible in &gt;97% and 100% of evaluable samples, respectively; however, classification accuracy was moderate (70% for hair and 61% for skin), improving substantially when allowing adjacent-category concordance (90.2% for skin). Ancestry inference was robust when at least 27 aiSNPs were detected, and Y-SNPs reliably distinguished male and female samples. In silico analyses confirmed the critical contribution of rs12913832 to eye color model operability. Conclusions: FDP performance under partial genotyping reflects a trade-off between prediction feasibility and accuracy and depends on locus-specific integrity rather than overall genotype completeness. The ForenSeq\u2122 Imagen kit shows robustness for ancestry, sex, hair, and skin prediction, although with variable accuracy, whereas eye color inference remains structurally vulnerable to drop out of high-impact variants. Evaluating FDP systems under realistic non-ideal conditions is essential to define their true operational limits and ensure scientifically robust and responsible implementation.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/genes17030354","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,23]],"date-time":"2026-03-23T11:59:36Z","timestamp":1774267176000},"page":"354","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Performance of the ForenSeqTM Imagen Kit for Forensic DNA Phenotyping Under Partial Genotyping Conditions"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Nayeli","family":"Gonz\u00e1lez-Ortiz","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratorio de Ciencias Morfol\u00f3gico Forenses y Medicina Molecular, Departamento de Morfolog\u00eda, Centro Universitario de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara 44340, Jalisco, Mexico"},{"name":"Doctorado en Gen\u00e9tica Humana, Departamento de Biolog\u00eda Molecular y Gen\u00f3mica, Centro Universitario de Ciencias de la Salud, Guadalajara 44340, Jalisco, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mariano","family":"Guardado-Estrada","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratorio de Gen\u00e9tica, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Forenses, Universidad Nacional Aut\u00f3noma de M\u00e9xico, Ciudad de M\u00e9xico 04510, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nahum","family":"Zepeta-Flores","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratorio de Gen\u00e9tica, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Forenses, Universidad Nacional Aut\u00f3noma de M\u00e9xico, Ciudad de M\u00e9xico 04510, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7555-9851","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jos\u00e9 Miguel","family":"Moreno-Ortiz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Instituto de Gen\u00e9tica Humana \u201cDr. Enrique Corona Rivera\u201d, Departamento de Biolog\u00eda Molecular, Centro Universitario de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara 44340, Jalisco, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6743-1054","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Adri\u00e1n","family":"Ram\u00edrez-de-Arellano","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Instituto de Investigaci\u00f3n en C\u00e1ncer e Infecciones, Departamento de Microbiolog\u00eda y Patolog\u00eda, Centro Universitario de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara 44340, Jalisco, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"H\u00e9ctor","family":"Rangel-Villalobos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Instituto de Investigaci\u00f3n en Gen\u00e9tica Molecular, Departamento de Ciencias M\u00e9dicas y de la Vida, Centro Universitario de la Ci\u00e9nega, Universidad de Guadalajara, Ocotl\u00e1n 47810, Jalisco, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2272-9260","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jos\u00e9 Francisco","family":"Mu\u00f1oz-Valle","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Instituto de Investigaci\u00f3n en Ciencias Biom\u00e9dicas, Centro Universitario de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara 44340, Jalisco, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jos\u00e9 Alonso","family":"Aguilar-Vel\u00e1zquez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratorio de Ciencias Morfol\u00f3gico Forenses y Medicina Molecular, Departamento de Morfolog\u00eda, Centro Universitario de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara 44340, Jalisco, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,23]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"33","DOI":"10.1016\/j.fsigen.2015.02.003","article-title":"Forensic DNA phenotyping: Predicting human appearance from crime scene material for investigative purposes","volume":"18","author":"Kayser","year":"2015","journal-title":"Forensic Sci. 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