Disadvantages And Disadvantages Of DNA Profiling

DNA Profiling

DNA profiling (also called DNA fingerprinting, DNA testing, or DNA typing) is a forensic technique used to identify individuals by characteristics of their DNA. A DNA profile is a small set of DNA variations that is very likely to be different in all unrelated individuals, thereby being as unique to individuals as are fingerprints (hence the alternate name for the technique). It was first developed and used in 1985, DNA profiling is used in, for example, parentage testing and criminal investigation, to identify a person or to place a person at a crime scene, techniques which are now employed globally in forensic science to facilitate police detective work and help clarify paternity and immigration disputes.

Although 99.9% of human

Applications of RFLP:

RFLP has been used for several genetic analysis applications since its invention, like:

-To determine or confirm the source of a DNA sample such as in paternity tests or criminal investigations.

- To identify a carrier of a disease-causing mutation in a family.( Diseases that can be passed through generations of the family)

Disadvantages of RFLP:

Since its invention, RFLP has been a widely used genome analysis techniques in forensic science, medicine, and genetic studies. However, it has become almost obsolete with the advent of relatively simple and less expensive DNA profiling technologies such as the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The RFLP procedure requires numerous steps and takes weeks to show results, while techniques such as PCR can amplify target DNA sequences in a mere few hours.

Due to numerous reasons such as these, the PCR technique has largely replaced RFLP in most uses requiring DNA sequencing like paternity testing or forensic sample analysis.

PCR Analysis:

Developed by Kary Mullis in 1983, a process was reported by which specific portions of the sample DNA can be amplified almost

The latter method allows the labels to be directly incorporated in the PCR product. The most widely used method for analyzing the PCR product is the use of agarose gel electrophoresis, which separates DNA products on the basis of size and charge. Agarose gel electrophoresis is the easiest method of visualizing and analyzing the PCR product. It allows for the determination of the presence and the size of the PCR product . A predetermined set of DNA products with known sizes are run simultaneously on the gel as standardized molecular markers to help determine the size of the product.

Advantages and limitations of PCR:

It is a simple technique to understand and to use, and it produces results rapidly .It is a highly sensitive technique with the potential to produce millions to billions of copies of a specific product for sequencing, cloning, and analysis.

Although PCR is a valuable technique, it has it´s disadvantage, because PCR is a highly sensitive technique, any form of contamination of the sample by even trace amounts of DNA can produce misleading