A Question of Ancestry
In this situation, we are trying to find the family of two orphans. Two sets
of grandparents have come forward (paternal grandparents and maternal
grandparents). We do not have the parents for typing, so we go to the next
of kin -- in this case, grandparents. This example is similar to the situation
that occurred in Argentina when the last junta fell -- there were many orphans
whose parents had been killed by the government, and the relatives wanted the
children back. Of course, records had been destroyed to protect the guilty.
Consider four VNTR loci. Each of the four loci are on different chromosomes,
and so can be considered independent. The Southern Blots for the loci are
done on the same samples, with the results given below. We have sample from
all four grandparents, and from the two children under question. Our job is
to assign ancestry.
Consider each locus separately. Of course, in real life, a single exclusion
is enough to strongly suspect that a child did not come from that family.
Consider each one on your own before you look at the answers.
Analysis of D2S193 Locus
Analysis of D7S182 Locus
Analysis of D15S38 Locus
Analysis of D20S88 Locus
Conclusions for The Question of Ancestry
Back to VNTR Examples