DNA Fingerprinting

DNA fingerprinting (aka DNA profiling) is useful for: paternity testing; establishing twin zygosity; determining bone marrow transplant engraftment; identifying mislabeled pathology species (discomfortingly frequent); pedigree analysis of animals and animal products; and establishing identity of criminals. CODIX is an FBI-administered DNA index that catalogs the DNA fingerprints of individuals. DNA profiling can be done by PCR using primers that bind to the single copy sequences flanking particular minisatellite repeats. Amplification of polymorphic minisatellite sequences can identify tissue derived from specific individuals. Amplification of these sequences will show distinct patterns of products.