For a paternity case, we normally test the mother, child and alleged father. Our laboratory is able to provide results with a high level of certainty even when key family members are unavailable . In cases where one of the parents is deceased or physically unavailable, the analysis may still be performed by testing the parents of the missing individual.
Short tandem repeats (STR), are short sequences of DNA that are repeated. Most of our DNA is identical to DNA of others. However, there are inherited regions of DNA that vary in each individual. Variations in DNA sequence between individuals are called "polymorphisms". The polymorphisms in STRs are due to the different number of copies of the repeat DNA that occur. By analyzing the polymorphic region of a child's DNA, we can establish which alleles were inherited from both their mother and father. STR analysis provides a basis to either exclude a tested man with 100% certainty or to include a tested man with 99% or greater certainty in a paternity case.
|
