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Paternity Testing Onoja A Review Article Paternity Testing Onoja A. M. Department of Haematology & Blood Transfusion, Jos University Teaching Hospital. Jos, Nigeria ABSTRACT as to whether or not; a man is the true biological father of Molecular diagnostic techniques have found application the individual. Though the genetic testing is the most in virtually all areas of medicine, including criminal reliable, older methods include the ABO blood group investigations and forensic analysis. The techniques typing, analysis of proteins and red cell enzymes, and have become so precise that it is now possible to use of human leukocyte antigens 1,2,3,4. conclusively determine paternity using DNA from grand parents, cousins, or even saliva left on a discarded THE EVOLUTION OF PATERNITY TESTING cigarette butt. This is a broad overview of paternity TECHNIQUES testing. The techniques have evolved and progressively improved over the past several decades. This has KEYWORDS: Paternity testing, Blood group typing, expanded the application of the various testing methods DNA testing, PCR, RFLP. with increased accuracy of results. INTRODUCTION THE BLOOD GROUP ANTIGEN Paternity testing, otherwise known as parentage testing Before DNA analysis, the blood group antigens were the is not a new concept but has evolved over time with most commonly used. This is based on the way blood advancing technology. It has made paternity fraud more types are passed from generation to generation. This test and more difficult. Paternity fraud is a charge made is more useful for disproving than proving paternity. It is when a woman falsely accused a man of fathering her done by analyzing the blood types of the parents and the child to get child support or some financial benefits 1,2. child based on the fact that some blood types, like genes, are dominant and others are recessive. The blood group Before surrogate motherhood became possible, the antigen systems of greatest value are the ABO, Rh, woman who gave birth to a child was obviously that MNSs, Kell, Duffy, and Kidd. These antigens are on the child's gestational, genetic, and legal mother. A few blood cell membranes and are coded for by genes2,3,4. circumstances in which the biological mother of a child may be unclear include cases of an adopted child who ABO blood typing: A and B antigens are located on the wish to reunify with his or her biological mother, red cell membrane, and the genes are on chromosome 9. potential hospital mix-ups, and in-vitro fertilization in This was established in the 1920s with about 30% power which the scientist may have implanted an unrelated 2,5 of exclusion embryo inside the mother. In vast majority of cases, maternity determination is not much of a problem 1,2,3. The A and B are co-dominant while the O is recessive. If a person's blood group is A, it means the person either Paternity questions unfortunately, are not so easy to inherited two A alleles or one A allele and one O allele. If answer. For years, these have presented a significant the a person has blood group B, it means the person challenge to scientists and potential parents. There are inherited either two B alleles or one B allele and one O situations in which demands for concrete, scientific allele and if the blood group is AB, it means he or she evidence of parentage are made. A request for paternity inherited one A allele and one B allele. testing may be by the physician or a court order when proof of paternity is required; immigration authorities; In a dispute, the ABO group can be used to exclude a government child support agencies or welfare benefits man from being a child's father. For example, a man offices 1,3. whose blood is AB would only pass on either the A or the B allele to all his offspring, and so could not father a Paternity testing can generate legally admissible results child whose blood group is O. A child with a blood group that can be used for child support, inheritance, social antigen that is not inherited from the mother and is not welfare benefits, immigration, or for adoption. present in a man named as the putative father cannot be Adapted individuals can now have direct means to his child. It is usually possible to exclude a falsely confirm their biological identity or to find their birth accused man, but it cannot be proven that a particular parents. Parentage testing is often an essential tool in man is the father 3,5. proving immigration status in cases of family reunification. Rh, MNSs, Kell, Duffy, and Kidd: In the course of time, addition of blood antigens like Rh, MNSs, Kell, DEFINITION Duffy, and Kidd refined the use of blood antigen typing Paternity testing is the use of genetic fingerprinting to for paternity and other forensic testing. The accuracy of determine whether two individuals have a biological these combined however, still remains at only 40% in parent-child relationship. It establishes a genetic proof Correspondence: Onoja A. Michael, Department of Haematology & Blood Transfusion, Jos University Teaching Hospital. Jos, Nigeria; 08160669376; [email protected] 406 Nigerian Journal of Medicine, Vol. 20 No. 4, October - December, 2011, ISSN, 1115 - 2613 ruling out a potential father 4,5. show whether one of them was derived from the other 1,8,9 Human Leukocyte Antigens: The introduction of Specific sequences are usually analyzed to see whether HLAs into the array of these blood group antigens in the one individual's genomes were copied exactly to the 1970s has increased the exclusion rate to 80% 2,6. The other individual's genomes. If that was the case, then the HLAs are proteins found in most cells of the body genetic material of one individual could have been (except red blood cells). White cells contain the most derived from that of the other, that is, one is the parent of amounts of these proteins. The HLA types can be shared the other. with close relatives, which explain why those who need Apart from the nuclear DNA in the nucleus, the organ transplants like kidney or bone marrow have to mitochondria in the cells also have their own genetic find a donor with the same or closely similar HLA type, material called the mitochondrial DNA or genome. The usually a close relative. This sharing makes it rather mitochondrial DNA comes only from the mother. difficult to rule out a father if he has two or more brothers Comparing the mitochondrial DNA in order to establish with the same HLA type. It cannot differentiate between a relationship is much easier than the use of nuclear related alleged fathers. genome. Mitochondrial genome however can only The effectiveness of HLA typing in paternity prove that two persons are related by common descent through maternal lines from a common ancestor, it determination depends on how rare an alleged father's cannot be used to prove paternity. HLA type is in the population. Thus, HLA typing can not guarantee a conclusive result. The male counterpart of mitochondrial DNA is the Y chromosome. Paternity of a male child can be tested by ELECTROPHORESIS OF BIOCHEMICAL comparing the Y chromosome since it is passed directly MARKERS from father to son 1,8,9. This was introduced in the 80s, where proteins from a person's blood or tissues are placed in a gel such as DNA testing has now advanced to a stage where cheek potato starch, agarose or polyacrylamide and electric cells alone can be used. The inside of a cheek is swabbed current were run through the gel and different forms or with a cotton bud to obtain the sample for DNA analysis 10 isozymes of the proteins were separated by their . With the availability of DNA test kit, samples can electrical charge and or size. Differences in isozymes even be taken at home, without pain or discomfort and relates to differences in the genes that code for these results ready in just a few days of testing. Samples from 1,10 proteins. Thus, the presence of certain identical hair, clothing and cigarette butt are also DNA sources . isozymes in samples from both a child and his or her Indeed, present day genetic testing has an accuracy rate potential father could be used to reveal the existence of a 1,10 genetic relationship between the two individuals. of up to 99.99% (9,999 out of 10,000) . Thus, DNA- Suggestions are that genetic testing via electrophoresis based forms of paternity testing have taken over earlier had advanced to such that it might be used to confirm methods. Better sensitivity and automation have paternity rather than merely exclude a man as a child's allowed DNA testing to be performed on ever-smaller father 1,7. and sometimes degraded DNA samples with greater speed and excellent accuracy. THE DNA TESTING DNA testing is based on comparism of two strands of The process of DNA fingerprinting was developed by DNA from two people. It generally utilizes one of two Alec Jeffreys a professor of genetics at the University of possible tests; restriction fragment length Leicester, in 1984, and it first became available for 8,9 polymorphism (RFLP), or polymerase chain reaction paternity testing in 1988 . (PCR) 1,5,7,10. DNA testing is currently the most advanced and accurate DNA TESTING VIA RFLP technology to determine parentage. Today, with the In RFLP test which came in the 1980s, DNA is cut into advent of numerous DNA sequencing, amplification and specific fragments using restriction enzymes. These testing techniques, paternity testing has evolved even fragments are then sorted by size using a special gel with further than predicted.
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