DNA Fingerprinting

In the late of 20th century DNA fingerprinting has revolutionized forensic science either in criminal investigation or family disputes. Although the DNA in the our cells has more than 99.5% homology in Homo Sapience (the species from which all modern humans have diverged), the remaining (less than 0.5%) shows variation between individuals. On the basis of this assumption, Alec Jeffreys, the British scientist, introduced the DNA fingerprinting in 1984. In this method some regions of DNA with tandem repeated sequence, are used as a marker to produce individual specific-fingerprints. Of course, it should be noted that finally the result are interpreted on the basis of average match probability. It means to what extent the test result could be obtained by chance. For example, the probability that two people have the same genomic content is estimated to be one in 594.1 trillion. The cut-off value of these probabilities is determined by political decision. In this review, after a brief description of the history, we will explain the types of markers and their use in related issues.