- 01 Introduction
- 02 Biology of DNA
- 03 Practical Issues Specific to DNA Evidence
- 04 Introduction to the Forensic DNA Laboratory
- 05 Assuring Quality in DNA Testing
- 06 Understanding a Forensic DNA Lab Report
- 07 Statistics and Population Genetics
- 08 Mitochondrial DNA & Y-STR Analysis
- 09 Forensic DNA Databases
- 10 Collection of DNA Evidence from Suspects and Arrestees
- 11 Pretrial DNA Evidence Issues
- 12 Victim Issues
- 13 Trial Presentation
- 14 Postconviction DNA Cases
- 15 Emerging Trends
Principles of Forensic DNA
for Officers of the Court
for Officers of the Court
Module 8 :: mtDNA & Y-STR
Topic 3 :: mtDNA Considerations
Sequence (Site) Heteroplasmy (cont.)
Sequence heteroplasmy, the presence of mtDNA molecules that differ by a single DNA base, is observed in about 10% of hairs and in about 1% of blood samples. The higher frequency in hairs is due to the development of a hair from only a few stem cells. Certain nucleotide sites are well-recognized mutational hot spots, that is, DNA locations where sequence heteroplasmy is likely to be observed.
