The human mitochondrial DNA two characteristics that make it possible to identify individuals and establish family relationships. First, it is haploid, being exhibited only maternal inheritance. Second, it is highly variable on the hypervariable
control
region of mitochondrial DNA. Taking advantage of to two characteristics of mitochondrial DNA, individual relationships in dispute were identified by combining PCR amplication with direct mitochondrial DNA sequencing. Two persons who alleged the
same
maternal lineage were identical on the mitochondrial DNA sequences from 15, 960 to 16, 569 and from 1 to533. Other two persons were identical on the mitochondrial DNA sequences from 16221 to 16390 each other. However, seven though four persons
are
kinship, these results suggest that they should come from two different maternal lineage.
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