Facts About DNA Fingerprinting
The DNA fingerprinting is a laboratory analysis used for creating a "DNA profile" of an individual. According to the U.S. Department of Education's Human Genome Program, "there is an extremely small chance that another person has the same DNA profile."
The results obtained from DNA fingerprint tests are applied in various fields, such as criminology, biotechnology, and the medical and forensic sciences.
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Definition
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DNA fingerprinting is a test to classify and analyze your genetic information, or DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid).
History
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The development of DNA fingerprinting dates back to 1984, when Alec Jeffreys, an English researcher, developed a method of presenting the DNA as an X-ray picture of dark and light bands. The bands represent a unique pattern specific to an individual, just as a physical fingerprint is unique to every individual.
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Applications
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There are several applications of DNA fingerprinting, especially in the fields of medical, pharmaceutical, agricultural, information technology and forensic sciences. The most apparent application is in the field of forensics, which link suspects to crimes using minute amounts of evidence, such as a single drop of blood.
Aside from solving crimes, the other applications of DNA fingerprinting include identification of disease-causing organisms, verification of family relationship (paternity testing) and enhancing security systems such as in retina scanning.
Types
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There are four major types of DNA fingerprinting: Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP), Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) Analysis, Short Tandem Repeat (STR) Analysis and Mitochondrial DNA Analysis. These types differ in the way fingerprinting is carried out. For example, RFLP analyzes DNA fragments while PCR creates copies of DNA to be analyzed.
Considerations
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DNA fingerprinting is a powerful tool for DNA analysis; however, it requires standardization because only a few laboratories around the world can give accurate DNA fingerprint results. Furthermore, DNA testing requires a lot of money due to the expensive probes used in the process. Lastly, since DNA fingerprinting is a laboratory exam done by experts and researchers, there is a possibility for human error that may affect the precision of obtained results.
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