DNA Parentage Calculations and Non-classical Situations

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Pretend you are adopted for a moment. You have been searching for your biological parents and you think you’ve found them. How can you know without a doubt that they are your birth parents? With the advances in DNA technology, scientists use gene frequencies and statistical analyses to ascertain the biological relationships of individuals. Harmening (2005) states, the most common use for parentage testing is the determination of whether a man is the biological father of a child. However, the testing can be used for non-classical situations such as siblingship and maternity testing.
In parentage testing, genetic markers from a child are identified and compared to the alleged parent or parents. According to Ostrowski (2003) every person has a series of genetic systems, or loci. Within each genetic system there is a pair of alleles. Half of the alleles come from the mother and half from the father. Once these alleles are extracted, amplified, and identified, they are used in a set of equations to identify three parentage indices. These indices are the paternity index, probability of paternity, and the probability of exclusion. Harmening (2005) suggests that the calculations are only valid if the tested man is compared to a “random man” that is not biologically related to him. Also, the equations must be based off of accurate gene frequencies for each genetic system and the population must be of similar ethnic background.
The first equation is the paternity index (PI), also known as the system index (SI). It is a ratio of the likelihood that an allele is passed down from the supposed father compared to an allele being passed down from a random man. Harmening (2005) states, in the equation for paternity index (X/Y), X is the chance t...

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...ternity index, probability of paternity, and probability of exclusion are used as statistical evaluations in parentage testing. Other calculations and testing can be used for the more non-classical cases like when the alleged father is deceased, when the mother is unavailable, or testing siblingship. As the knowledge of this type of technology grows, testing will become more reliable and more useful in things like forensics, immigration, and inheritance studies.

Works Cited

Bio-Gene DNA Testing, LLC. (2011-2014). Truth Through Science and Technology. Retrieved from: https://dna-paternity-testing.com/
Harmening, D. M. (2005). Modern Blood Banking & Transfusion Practices. Philidelphia, PA: F.A. Davis Company.
Ostrowski, R. (2003). Paternity Indices. [Lecture Notes] Retrieved from Conference Online Website: http://bioforensics.com/conference/Paternity/index.html

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