DNA Profiling
(DNA fingerprinting)
What is DNA Profiling?
A technique used by scientists to
distinguish between individuals of the
same species using only samples of their
DNA. The only difference between people
(or any animal) is the order of the
base pairs. The information contained in
DNA is determined primarily by the
sequence of letters along the zipper. The
different sequences is the same as the
word "POST" has a different meaning
from "STOP" or "POTS," even though
they use the same letters
Who Invented it?
The process of DNA
fingerprinting was
invented by Alec
Jeffreys at the
University of
Leicester in 1985.
He was knighted in
1994.
Stages of DNA Profiling
Stage 1:
Cells are broken down
to release DNA
If only a small amount
of DNA is available it
can be amplified using
the polymerase chain
reaction (PCR)
Stages of DNA Profiling
Step 2:
The DNA is cut into fragments using restriction
enzymes.
Each restriction enzyme cuts DNA at a specific base
sequence.
Stages of DNA Profiling
Thesections of DNA that are cut out
are called restriction fragments.
Thisyields thousands of restriction
fragments of all different sizes
because the base sequences being
cut may be far apart (long fragment)
or close together (short fragment).
Stages of DNA Profiling
Stage 3:
Fragments are
separated on the
basis of size using
a process called gel
electrophoresis.
DNA fragments are
injected into wells
and an electric
current is applied
along the gel.
Stages of DNA Profiling
DNA is negatively
charged so it is
attracted to the
positive end of the
gel.
The shorter DNA
fragments move
faster than the
longer fragments.
DNA is separated on
basis of size.
Stages of DNA Profiling
A radioactive material
is added which
combines with the DNA
fragments to produce a
fluorescent image.
A photographic copy of
the DNA bands is
obtained.
Stages of DNA Profiling
Stage 4:
The pattern of fragment distribution
is then analysed.
Uses of DNA Profiling
DNA profiling is
used to solve
crimes and
medical
problems
Crime
Forensic science is the use of
scientific knowledge in legal
situations.
The DNA profile of each individual is
highly specific.
The chances of two people having
exactly the same DNA profile is
30,000 million to 1 (except for
identical twins).
Biological materials used for DNA
profiling
Blood
Hair
Saliva
Semen
Body tissue cells
DNA samples have
been obtained from
vaginal cells
transferred to the
outside of a condom
during sexual
intercourse.
DNA Profiling can solve crimes
The pattern of the DNA profile is then
compared with those of the victim and the
suspect.
If the profile matches the suspect it
provides strong evidence that the suspect
was present at the crime scene (NB:it
does not prove they committed the
crime).
If the profile doesn’t match the suspect
then that suspect may be eliminated from
the enquiry.
Example
A violent murder occurred.
The forensics team retrieved a blood
sample from the crime scene.
They prepared DNA profiles of the
blood sample, the victim and a
suspect as follows:
Was the suspect at the crime scene?
Suspects Blood sample Victims
Profile from crime profile
scene
Solving Medical Problems
DNA profiles can be used to determine
whether a particular person is the parent
of a child.
A childs paternity (father) and
maternity(mother) can be determined.
This information can be used in
• Paternity suits
• Inheritance cases
• Immigration cases
Example: A Paternity Test
By comparing the DNA profile of a
mother and her child it is possible to
identify DNA fragments in the child
which are absent from the mother and
must therefore have been inherited
from the biological father.
Is this man the father of the child?
Mother Child Man
Personal Identification
The notion of using DNA fingerprints as a sort
of genetic bar code to identify individuals has
been discussed
Diagnosis of Inherited Disorders
diagnosis inherited disorders in both prenatal
and newborn babies
These disorders may include cystic fibrosis,
hemophilia, Huntington's disease, familial
Alzheimer's, sickle cell anemia, thalassemia,
and many others.
In 2002 Elizabeth
Hurley used DNA
profiling to prove
that Steve Bing
was the father
of her child Damien
DNA Fingerprinting using VNTR's
On some human chromosomes, a short sequence of
DNA has been repeated a number of times.
the repeat number may vary from one to thirty repeats
these repeat regions are usually bounded by specific
restriction enzyme sites
cut out the segment of the chromosome containing
this variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR's )
identify the VNTR's for the DNA sequence of the
repeat.
Famous Cases
Colin Pitchfork was
the first criminal
caught based on
DNA fingerprinting
evidence.
He was arrested in
1986 for the rape
and murder of two
girls and was
sentenced in 1988.
