DNA Polymorphisms and Human Identification Flashcards
SNPs
Single Nucleotide Polymirohisms. A single nucleotide variation from the reference sequence.
LINEs
Long Interspersed Nucleotide Elements. Highly repeated sequences located throughout the human genome that contain RNA polymerase promoters and open reading frames related to the reverse transcriptase of retroviruses. 6-8 kilobases long.
SINEs
Short Interspersed Nucleotide Elements. Highly repeated sequences .3 kilobases long located throughout the human genome. Present in over 1mil copies per genome.
Alu Elements
Short interspersed nucleotide sequences containing recognition sites for the Alu restriction enzyme.
Psuedogenes
Intronless, nonfunctional copies of active genes.
STRs
Short Tandem Repeats. Shorter blocks of repeated sequences that undergo expansion or shrinkage through generations. 1-10bp.
VNTRs
Variable-Number Tandem Repeats. Shorter blocks of repeated sequences that undergo expansion or shrinkage through generations. 10-150bp.
RFLPs
Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphisms. A sequence variation that results in creating, destroying, or moving a restriction site.
Locus
Gene or region of DNA.
Allele
Version of a gene, sequence, or locus.
Homozygous
A pair of alleles in a human is the same.
Heterozygous
A pair of alleles in a human is different.
Inclusion
Alleles from a father that a child inherits.
Exclusion
In human identification, elimination of a person. Difference of one allele from a reference source.
MLP
Multiple-Locus Probe. Southern blot that utilizes three to five probes to analyze three to five loci on the same blot.
SLP
Single-Locus Probe. Analysis of one locus at a time. Yields better results than MLPs.
Continuous Allele System
Sizes of fragments define alleles. RFLP.
Profile
A set of RFLP. A set of markers, alleles, or other characteristics in an individual.
Microsatellites
DNA from highly repeated short sequences (STRs) such that it differs in density from nonrepeated DNA.
Minisatellites
DNA from highly repeated short sequences (VNTRs) such that it differs in density from nonrepeated DNA.
Microvariants
A repeated sequence with altered DNA, missing one or more bases of the repeat.
Mini-STR
STRs amplified with PCR primers located closer to the tandem repeat than in the standard STR.
Y-STR
Short tandem repeats located on the Y chromosome. Can be used for surname testing and forensic identification of males.
Allelic Ladders
Set of fragments representing all possible alleles of a population.
Discrete Allele Fragments
A set of alleles that can be classified by a finite number of types.
Amelogenin Locus
A marker often analyzed along with STR. Located on the X and Y chromosome.
CODIS
Combined DNA Indexing System. A set of 13 STR loci and amelogenin used for positive identification.
Locus Genotype
The set of inherited alleles at a particular site on homologous chromosomes, such as STR repeats or SNPs.
Stutter
An anomaly of PCR amplification in which the polymerase may miss a repeat during the replication process, resulting in two or more different species in the amplified product.