Genetics in Forensic Science

Abstract

DNA profiling is a powerful forensic technique to identify individuals because DNA is different among individuals, except for identical twins. Autosomal short tandem repeat (STR), Y chromosomal STR, and mitochondrial DNA testing have been performed for identification. Autosomal STR and Y chromosomal STR are analyzed using STR multiplex assays that simultaneously amplify many STR loci. Therefore, large amounts of information can be obtained from a small amount of DNA. Mitochondrial DNA testing is an efficient way to identify from samples, especially those that have low and/or highly degraded DNA content. DNA profiling is useful not only for forensic casework but also for cell line authentication.