A2 3.5 Unit 5: Genetic fingerprinting

An organism's genome contains many repetitive, non-coding base sequences. The probability of two individuals having the same repetitive sequences is very low

The technique of genetic fingerprinting in analysing DNA fragments that have been cloned by PCR, and its use in determining genetic relationships and in determining the genetic variability within a population

Candidates should be able to:

• explain the biological principles that underpin genetic fingerprinting techniques
• explain why scientists might use genetic fingerprints, in the fields of forensic science, medical diagnosis, animal and plant breeding