Role of Short Tandem Repeat (STR) in the paternity test

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Role of Short Tandem Repeat (STR) in the paternity test

Prenatal testing

It is very understandable that the paternity test works a lot like other genetic tests, such as discovering distant relatives, genetic disorders, and ancestral origins. Short Tandem Repeat(STR) in DNA paternity testing is a very reliable option to establish a father and child relationship. Using current technology, you can expect nearly 100% accuracy.

paternity testing

How paternity testing works:

The main thing about Paternity testing is that it can be done very early, even during pregnancy. In this case, the test will be conducted at a hospital and the DNA samples will be collected in one of two ways as mentioned below:

  • The first is chorionic villi sampling, which is performed between 10 and 13 weeks into pregnancy. Here, a small piece of the placenta is removed by inserting a needle into the uterus through either the vagina or the abdominal wall. After the process, the fetus’ DNA is sent to a lab for analysis.
  • A much less invasive technique involves drawing a sample of the mother’s blood, which contains fragments of cell-free fetal DNA.

The role of STR (Short Tandem Repeat) in the paternity test

The STRs are typically two to four letters long and just repeat over and over. Remember that, because these regions mutate from time to time, they vary in length from individual to individual.

Paternity Testing

You can say that they can act as a “genetic fingerprint,” because every person is going to have the same STR segments, but the combination of STR lengths an individual inherits will be unique. Additionally, the main thing is that 50% of a child’s DNA comes from his/her father, which means approximately 50% of these STRs are shared between them. Still, further study of STRs is needed to understand their biological functions.

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