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DNA Fingerprinting: Discovery, Advancements, and Milestones

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DNA Fingerprinting: Advancements and Future Endeavors

Abstract

The discovery of DNA fingerprinting is one of the most fascinating scientific discoveries till date. It is not only limited to the laboratory research but also showed a huge potential in forensic science and criminal justice system. It was one of the milestones in resolving crimes by exploring the polymorphism of human DNA in noncoding regions. Since its inception, DNA fingerprinting has taken a great leap in terms of advancements in technology, accuracy, and reliability of the results as well as rapidity of the process for its more efficient application in justice delivery systems. This has become the most valuable armory of the judiciary system to aid in the conviction of guilty as well as exoneration of the innocent. Advancement of DNA fingerprinting technique from RFLP to STR and now NGS has sped up the process of DNA profiling with better discriminating power among individuals with greater efficacy. In this prospect, the current chapter elaborately recapitulates the process of advancement in DNA fingerprinting describing the use of different STR kits, i.e., autosomal STRs, Y-STRs, X-STRs, miniSTRs, etc., for forensic applications. We have also highlighted the importance of SNPs and amalgamation of NGS kits in forensic application. Notably, the importance of wildlife forensic has been discussed for the identification of species as well as its geographic origin. Another important budding aspect of RNA-based identification of forensically relevant biological fluids has also been discussed in much detail.

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Acknowledgment

The authors are thankful to the Director of State Forensic Science Laboratory, Ranchi, Jharkhand, for the support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. DNA Fingerprinting Unit, State Forensic Science Laboratory, Department of Home, Jail and Disaster Management, Government of Jharkhand, Ranchi, India

    Jahangir Imam, Romana Reyaz, Ajay Kumar Rana & Vrijesh Kumar Yadav

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  1. Jahangir Imam
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  2. Romana Reyaz
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  3. Ajay Kumar Rana
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  4. Vrijesh Kumar Yadav
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. DNA Fingerprinting Unit, State Forensic Science Laboratory, Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, India

    Hirak Ranjan Dash

  2. DNA Fingerprinting Unit, State Forensic Science Laboratory, Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, India

    Pankaj Shrivastava

  3. Department of Biology and DNA Fingerprinting Unit, Central Forensic Science Laboratory, New Delhi, Delhi, India

    Braja Kishore Mohapatra

  4. Department of Life Science, National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, Odisha, India

    Surajit Das

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Imam, J., Reyaz, R., Rana, A.K., Yadav, V.K. (2018). DNA Fingerprinting: Discovery, Advancements, and Milestones. In: Dash, H., Shrivastava, P., Mohapatra, B., Das, S. (eds) DNA Fingerprinting: Advancements and Future Endeavors. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1583-1_1

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