What is a common reason to report a degradation index in forensic DNA testing?

• A. It informs the likelihood of successful amplification and the choice of short versus long targets
• B. It forecasts the exact time since deposition
• C. It eliminates the need for controls
• D. It confirms the sample's exact source

Answer: (D)

A degradation index is used to gauge DNA quality and how much damage is present in a sample. It tells you how likely it is that PCR amplification will work and which sizes of DNA fragments you should target. If degradation is high, shorter amplicons tend to amplify more reliably than longer ones, so reporting the degradation index helps guide the workflow toward using short targets to maximize the chance of obtaining a usable profile and to interpret results with the appropriate caution. It does not predict how long ago the sample was deposited, it does not remove the need for controls, and it does not identify the sample’s exact source.