PM SHRI KENRIYA VIDYALAYA, AJNI

NAGPUR

BIOLOGY INVESTIGATORY PROJECT

TOPIC- DNA FINGERPRINTING
ACADEMIC YEAR- 2024-25

NAME – JATIN SAHU

CLASS – XII - A
SUBJECT – BIOLOGY
SUB TEACHER – DR. KANAK LATA MAM
 CERTIFICATE

This is to cer fy that “JATIN SAHU” student of class 12th “Science” has
successfully completed their Biology project on “DNA FINGERPRINTING” under
the guidance of “Dr. KANAK LATA”.

Teacher`s sign Principle`s sign

External`s sign
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my special thanks of gra tude to my teacher

“DR. KANAK LATA”, as well as our principal “Mr. FEROZ KHAN”
who gave me the golden opportunity to do this wonderful project on
the topic “DNA Fingerprin ng”, which also helped me in doing a lot of
Research and I came to know about so many new things. I am really
thankful to them. The project could have never been possible without
the support of various sources, such as internet and books. Lastly I would
like to thank each and every individual who helped me throughout the
project.
 INDEX

1. Introduc on

2. Polymorphism

3. Technique of DNA fingerprin ng

4. Process of DNA fingerprin ng

5. Schema c Representa on of DNA fingerprin ng

6. Applica ons of DNA fingerprin ng

7. Advantages and Disadvantages

8. Famous cases of DNA fingerprin ng

9. Uses of DNA fingerprin ng

10.Conclusion

11.Bibliography
DNA FINGERPRINTING
 Introduction

• DNA fingerprin ng is a laboratory technique used to establish a link

between biological evidence and suspect in a criminal inves ga on.
• A DNA sample taken from a crime scene is compared with a DNA
sample from a suspect.
• DNA fingerprin ng was invented in 1984 by Professor Sir Alec Jeffreys.
• DNA fingerprin ng involves the iden fica on of differences in
repe ve DNA. Repe ve DNA is a specific region in DNA in which a
small stretch of DNA is repeated many mes.
• These through density gradient centrifuga on, these repe ve DNA
are separated from the bulk genomic centrifuga on and the other
small peaks are known as satellite DNA.
• sequence do not code for any proteins normally but they cons tute a
large por on of humans genome. The satellite DNA is classified into
many categories such as a microsatellites, nanosatellites etc, on
the basis of length of segment, number of respec ve units, the base
composi on (A:Trich or G:C rich), etc
• The satellite DNA sequences also shows high degree of polymorphism
and forms, the basis of DNA fingerprin ng.
 POLYMORPHISM

It is the varia on in individuals at gene c level. Polymorphism arises due

to muta ons. It plays an important role in evolu on and specia on. In a
popula on, if an inheritable muta on is observed at high frequency, it is
referred to as DNA polymorphism. There are different types
of polymorphism, from single nucleo de change to large scale changes. In an
individual, DNA from every ssue (e.g. blood, hair follicle, skin, bone, saliva
etc) shows same degree of polymorphism Thus, they become very essen al
iden fica on tool in forensic applica ons. As polymorphism are inherited
from parents to children. So, i s useful in paternity tes ng.
 TECHNIQUE OF DNA FINGERPRINTING

Alec Jeffreys ini ally developed DNA fingerprin ng, also known as DNA

typing or DNA profiling, to find out markers for inherited diseases. He used a
satellite DNA as a probe that shows very high degree of polymorphism and
called it Variable Number of Tandem Repeats (VNTRS). The technique
involved Southern blot hybridisa on using radiolabelled VNTR as a probe.
 PROCESS OF DNA FINGERPRINTING

Step 1: DNA Extrac on (Isola on)

- Cells are collected from a biological sample (blood, saliva, hair, etc.).
- Cells are broken open (lysed) to release DNA.
- DNA is separated from other cellular components using enzymes
(proteinase K) and centrifuga on.
- DNA is purified using phenol-chloroform extrac on or silica-based methods.

Step 2: DNA Purifica on

- Purified DNA is dissolved in a buffer solu on.
- Contaminants (salts, proteins, etc.) are removed using:
- Centrifuga on
 - Precipita on (ethanol or isopropanol)
- Column chromatography (silica or ion-exchange)

Step 3: Restric on Enzyme Diges on

- Purified DNA is cut into smaller fragments using restric on enzymes (EcoRI,
HindIII, etc.).
- Restric on enzymes recognize specific DNA sequences (4-6 bp) and cut at
those sites.
- Resul ng fragments vary in length (RFLP - Restric on Fragment Length
Polymorphism).

Step 4: PCR Amplifica on (Polymerase Chain Reac on)

- Specific DNA regions are amplified using PCR.
- Primers (short DNA sequences) target specific regions.
- PCR cycles:
1. Denatura on (94°C, 30 sec)
2. Annealing (55-65°C, 30 sec)
3. Extension (72°C, 1-2 min)
- Amplified DNA fragments are generated.

Step 5: Gel Electrophoresis

- Amplified DNA fragments are separated based on size and charge.
- Agarose or polyacrylamide gel is used.
- Electric field applied:
- Fragments migrate through gel
- Smaller fragments move faster
Step 6: Southern Blo ng
- Separated DNA fragments are transferred to a membrane.
- Membrane is hybridized with labeled probes.
- Probes bind to complementary DNA sequences.
- Labeled probes detect DNA fragments.

Step 7: Autoradiography
- Membrane is exposed to X-ray film or detector.
- DNA fingerprin ng pa ern visualized.

Step 8: Analysis
- Compare DNA fingerprin ng pa erns.
- Iden fy similari es or differences.
- So ware analyzes and matches pa erns.
 SCHEMATIC REPRESENTATION OF DNA
FINGERPRINTING

Few representa ve chromosomes has been shown to contain different copy

number of VNTR. For the sake of understanding different colour schemes
have been used to trace the origin each band in the gel. The two alleles
(paternal and maternal) of a chromosome also contain different copy of
VNTR. It is clear that the banding pa ern of DNA from crime scene matches
with individual B not with A.
 APPLICATIONS OF DNA FINGERPRINTING

Forensic Applica ons:

1. Crime inves ga on: Iden fying suspects, solving crimes

2. Paternity tes ng: Establishing parental rela onships
3. Iden ty verifica on: Confirming individual iden es
4. Human remains iden fica on: Iden fying deceased individuals
5. Crime scene analysis: Analyzing DNA evidence
Medical Applica ons:

1. Gene c disorder diagnosis: Detec ng gene c disorders (e.g., sickle cell

anemia)
2. Prenatal diagnosis: Detec ng gene c disorders in fetuses
3. Organ transplanta on: Matching donor-recipient DNA
4. Gene c counselling: Advising families on gene c risks
5. Infec ous disease diagnosis: Iden fying pathogens

Biological Applica ons:

1. Wildlife forensics: Iden fying animal species, tracking poaching

2. Conserva on biology: Studying popula on gene cs, tracking migra on
3. Food safety: Detec ng gene cally modified organisms (GMOs)
4. Plant breeding: Developing disease-resistant crops
5. Microbial iden fica on: Iden fying bacteria, viruses, fungi
 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

ADVANTAGAES

1.It is an easy and painless method for the subject being tested. It is less
invasive then taking a blood sample.
2. It is an affordable and reliable technique.
3. It can be conducted in a rela vely short amount of me.
4. Anyone at any age can be tested with this method without any major
concerns.
5. There is a large variety of uses such as in legal claims, missing persons
cases, iden fica on for the military, and paternity and prenatal tes ng.

DISADVANTAGES

1.The sample of DNA can easily be ruined during the process of DNA
fingerprin ng, causing the sample to become completely useless for tes ng
2. The process itself is complex and tedious, and can give results that may be
hard to interpret
3. The test needs to be run on mul ple samples, a numerous amount of mes
for ideal accuracy. Commonly, labs run each test twice with four samples.
4. Privacy issues could occur if the informa on isn’t kept secure at the lab.
Personal informa on legally can only be released with a wri en order. This
personal informa on if leaked, could poten ally complicate insurance
processes, health care and job prospects for an individual.
 FAMOUS CASES OF DN FINGERPRINTING

● Colin Pitchfork was the first criminal based on DNA fingerprin ng evidence.
He was arrested in1986 for the rape and murder of the two girls and was
sentenced in 1988.
● Simpson was cleared of a double murder charge in 1994 which relied
heavily on DNA evidence. This cases highlighted lab difficul es.
 USES OF DNA FINGERPRINTING

Forensic Science

1. Crime inves ga on and solving

2. Iden fica on of human remains
3. Paternity tes ng and disputed parentage
4. Iden ty verifica on and authen ca on
5. Crime scene analysis and evidence collec on

Medical Gene cs

1. Diagnosis of gene c disorders (e.g., sickle cell anemia)

2. Prenatal diagnosis of gene c disorders
3. Organ transplanta on and ssue matching
4. Gene c counselling and risk assessment
5. Infec ous disease diagnosis and epidemiology
Biological Research

1. Wildlife forensics and conserva on biology

2. Plant breeding and gene c engineering
3. Food safety and detec on of GMOs
4. Microbial iden fica on and disease diagnosis
5. Environmental monitoring and pollu on tracking
 CONCLUSION

It was an amazing experience doing this project. I gained a lot of informa on

about DNA Fingerprin ng. It helped me to clear many of my doubts. It is a
really interes ng topic. In today's world DNA fingerprin ng is playing a very
important role.
DNA fingerprin ng is a reliable and efficient method for iden fying
individuals, solving crimes, and understanding gene c rela onships. Its
applica ons extend beyond forensic science to medical gene cs, biological
research, and anthropology.
 Bibliography

 NCERT-Biology book class 12

 Wikipedia
 h ps://www.scribd.com/document/604854192/Dna-Fingerprin ng-
Bio-Project
 Arihant - All In One book
 Images and other data from internet
THANKYOU!