Human DNA Fingerprinting by Polymerase Chain Reaction

 

Mark Bloom

Tested Studies in Laboratory Teaching, 1994, Volume 15

Abstract

This experiment uses polymerase chain reaction to demonstrate the polymorphic nature of human DNA. Students obtain samples of their own DNA using a simple mouthwash procedure. PCR is used to amplify a noncoding region of chromosome 1 that contains a repeated DNA sequence. The number of times the sequence repeats can vary from person to person, resulting in a polymorphism. Following amplification, student samples are electrophoresed, stained, and photographed. Each student will see one or two bands in their gel lane, indicating whether they are homozygous or heterozygous for that region of chromosome 1. This experiment is adapted from Advanced DNA Science: An Introduction to Methods of Genome Analysis by Mark V. Bloom, Greg A. Freyer, and David A. Micklos (copyright 1993 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and Carolina Biological Supply Company); polymerase chain reaction is covered by patents owned by Hoffman La Roche.

Keywords:  DNA fingerprinting, polymerase chain reaction, polymorphism

University of Toronto (1993)