Q. 6.  'There is a paternity dispute for a child'. Which technique can solve the problem? Discuss the principle involved.


DNA fingerprinting is the technique used in solving the paternity dispute for a child. DNA fingerprinting is a technique of determining nucleotide sequences of certain areas of DNA which are unique to each individual.

The basis of DNA fingerprinting is DNA  polymorphism. Although the DNA from different individuals is more alike than different, there are many regions of the human chromosomes that exhibit a great deal of diversity. Such variable sequences are termed 'polymorphic' (meaning many forms).

A special type of polymorphism called VNTR (Variable Number of Tandem Repeats), is composed of repeated copies of a DNA sequence that lie adjacent to one another on the chromosome. Since, polymorphism is the basis of genetic mapping of human.