DNA Fingerprinting

DNA fingerprinting

n.

A method used to identify multilocus DNA banding patterns that are specific to an individual by exposing a sample of the person's DNA to molecular probes and various analytical techniques such as Southern blot analysis. DNA fingerprinting is often used to provide evidence in criminal law cases. Also called genetic fingerprinting.

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DNA fingerprinting,

a technique for comparing the nucleotide sequences of fragments of DNA from different sources. The fragments are obtained by treating the DNA with various endonucleases, enzymes that break DNA strands at specific sites. There is a chance of 1 in 30 billion that two persons who are not monozygotic twins would have identical DNA fingerprints. To resolve the complexities of the process, short, tandemly repeated, highly specific "minisatellite" genomic sequences are used. A wild-type M13 bacteriophage that identifies the differences is confined to two clusters of 15-base-pair repeats in the protein III gene of the bacteriophage. The specificity of the probe makes it applicable to questions of forensic science.

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DNA Profiling

The analysis of short, highly specific, tandem-repeated—or hypervariable— genomic sequences, minisatellites known as variable number of tandem repeats (VNTRs), to detect the degree of relatedness to another sequence of oligonucleotides. This method of isolating and visualising of sequences of DNA was developed in 1984 by Alec Jeffreys, who identified minisatellites that do not contribute to gene function but are repeated in the genes and elsewhere in a DNA sample, thus providing highly specific information about that organism or person.

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DNA fingerprinting,

n the use of DNA analysis to identify a subject from blood or other suitable tissue.