The so-called hypervariable regions (HVi. and HV2) of the human mitochondrial genome are sometimes used in forensic analysis. They are two noncoding regions of the mitochondrial genome, each approximately 300 bp, that flank the origin of replication; the function of these DNA sequences is not well understood. However, these two regions of mtDNA show the most variation (SNPs and InDels) among different people. The DNA within HVi. and HV2 accumulates mutations at ten times the rate of DNA sequences in the nuclear genome. a. Under what circumstances would human mtDNA be preferable over nuclear DNA for identifying individuals? b. What are the disadvantages of using mtDNA, relative to nuclear DNA, in order to identify individuals?

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Kamila Peters

Biology

14 March, 20:52

The so-called hypervariable regions (HVi. and HV2) of the human mitochondrial genome are sometimes used in forensic analysis. They are two noncoding regions of the mitochondrial genome, each approximately 300 bp, that flank the origin of replication; the function of these DNA sequences is not well understood. However, these two regions of mtDNA show the most variation (SNPs and InDels) among different people. The DNA within HVi. and HV2 accumulates mutations at ten times the rate of DNA sequences in the nuclear genome. a. Under what circumstances would human mtDNA be preferable over nuclear DNA for identifying individuals? b. What are the disadvantages of using mtDNA, relative to nuclear DNA, in order to identify individuals?

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Bentley Snow · Answer 1

mtDNA is used, consider forensic laboratories to characterize bone remains and identify individuals who have other evidence

The disadvantage of using mtDNA in relation to nuclear DNA is that it does not identify individuals unambiguously, it only detects relationships between groups of individuals