DNA Fingerprinting
Daniel LimLin Siqi
Si HongboWang Chengxu
Guideline
• Definition of DNA Fingerprinting
• The techniques and methods
• When to use
• Problem with it
• Interesting Cases
Definition
• The process of comparing the nucleotide sequences of different DNA samples to find out if the samples are from the same individual or not.
• It was invented by Sir Alec Jeffreys at the University of Leicester in 1985.
Techniques and Methods
• RFLP Analysis
• STR Analysis
RFLP Analysis
• Performing a Southern Blot
• Making a Radioactive Probe
• Creating a Hybridization Reaction
• VNTRs (Variable Number Tandem Repeats)
Performing a Southern Blot
http://protist.biology.washington.edu/fingerprint/blot.gif
Making a Radioactive Probe
Creating a Hybridization Reaction
VNTRs
STR Analysis
• Short Tandem Repeats
• PCR Amplication
• Electrophoresis
When to use it?
• Forensic evidence --- Criminal Identification
• Parenthood disputes --- Paternity and Maternity Establishment
Problem with it
• Generate a high probability
• Problems with this:
1. Population genetics
2. Technical difficulties
Interesting Cases
• In the 1920s, Anna Anderson claimed that she was Princess Anastasia Romanov of Russia; in the 1980s after her death, samples of her tissue that had been stored at a Charlottesville, Virginia hospital following a medical procedure were tested using DNA fingerprinting and showed that she bore no relation to the Romanovs.
Interesting Cases
• In 1987, British baker Colin Pitchfork was the first criminal caught using DNA fingerprinting in Leicester, the city where it was first discovered
Interesting Cases
• In 1994, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) detectives successfully tested hairs from a cat known as “Snowball”, and used the test to link a man to the murder of his wife, thus marking for the first time in forensic history the use of non-human DNA to identify a criminal.
Q & A
Bibliography
• Campbell, N, A. Reece, J, B. Biology, Seventh Edition, 2005, Pearson.
• Audesirk, T. Audesirk, G. Byers, B, E. Biology: Life on Earth, Seventh Edition, 2005, Pearson.
• http://www.cartoonstock.com/• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Genetic_fingerprinting• http://protist.biology.washington.edu/fingerprint