The Kaspar Hauser Enigma: Historical Myths and Scientific Controversy

The investigation into Kaspar Hauser’s alleged noble ancestry has highlighted a critical issue in forensic genetics: a discrepancy between mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) results obtained from 200-year-old hair shafts using different sequencing technologies. Massively parallel sequencing (MPS) of mini-amplicons (~175 bp) did not replicate results obtained two decades earlier using Sanger sequencing with larger amplicons (~400 bp) on the same samples. This inconsistency cannot be attributed to contamination alone. It was hypothesized that mtDNA mixtures may have been present and detected differently by the respective technologies.

To explore this, artificial two-component mtDNA mixtures were prepared, with one component subjected to UV-C exposure to simulate degradation. Sanger sequencing largely failed to detect the degraded mtDNA, presenting only the intact sequence as a single-source mitotype. In contrast, MPS successfully identified both components, even at high degradation levels and extreme mixture ratios.

These findings reveal significant differences in the sensitivity of sequencing methods to degraded or mixed mtDNA, with broad implications for forensic interpretation. The study underscores the importance of performing mtDNA quantification prior to analysis—ideally using degradation-sensitive formats—to minimize the risk of misinterpretation in forensic casework.