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26 Med. Sci. & L. 5 (1986)

handle is hein.journals/mdsclw26 and id is 1 raw text is: Med. Sci. Law (1986) Vol.26, No.1 Printedin Great Britain Editorial-DNA Fingerprinting in Matters of Family and Crime* BARBARA E. DODD, MSc, PhD, DSc (London) Emeritus Professor of Blood Serology, The London Hospital Medical College. London El 2AD There has been a great deal of comment recently in both the popular Press and in certain aca- demic journals concerning the possible use of DNA fingerprinting as a means of identifying individuals, their parents and their offspring. However, the excitement generated as a result of newly-published research must be tempered with the knowledge that much assessment still needs to be done. This editorial, which was orig- inally published in Nature (Vol. 318), discusses the technique, and is based on the premise that once proved the DNA fingerprinting technique will revolutionize forensic biology. It has long been the ambition of the forensic scientist to be able to identify the origin of blood and body-fluid stains with the same degree of certainty as fingerprints. And the ability to settle cases of doubtful paternity with absolute certainty in every case would be equally welcome. The arrival of DNA finger- printing-particularly as developed by Alec Jeffreys et al. (1985) at Leicester University is a big step towards the forensic scientist's goal in both areas. As so often happens, the technique has arisen from research that was not aimed specifically at solving practical problems. Jeffreys had been working on the short 'minisatellite' sequence of DNA in an intron of the human myoglobin gene. Using the now familiar methods of Southern blotting and DNA hybridization he found that the myoglobin minisatellite detected *The editor is grateful to Nature for permission to reproduce this article. other human minisatellites, some of which are highly polymorphic. The common features of these minisatellites have been identified by sequencing, and cloned DNA probes, based on tandem repeats of the core sequences, have been used to detect simultaneously several highly variable genetic loci in the human genome. The variability in the pattern of hands detected by the probes is so rich that a hand pattern in virtually unique for every individual, hence the expression 'DNA fingerprinting'. Gill, Jeffreys and Werrett (1985) of the Home Office Forensic Science Service report promis- ing progress in applying DNA fingerprinting to blood stains, semen stains and hair roots, show- ing that DNA fingerprints obtained from these sources were always identical to those of the individuals from whom the material originated. Especially rewarding were the results of DNA fingerprints of sperm nuclei and their potential for the identification of rapists. There are conventional genetic markers in semen but semen stains are frequently contaminated with vaginal fluid, so that the origin of any markers present is difficult or well-nigh impossible to trace. Gill et al. (1985) have managed to isolate sperm nuclei free from vaginal contamination and have obtained a DNA fingerprint that is the same as the donor of the sperm. Thus it should be possible to match a DNA fingerprint of sperm from, for example, a stain on a victim's clothing with that of blood or sperm from a suspect rapist. A chance match is virtually eliminated because its probability is calculated to be of the order of 3 x 10 -, or even less if more than one probe is used. The technique, however has yet to be tested and assessed for

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