The third step in mtDNA analysis is different:

• Sequencing: Dideoxy sequencing, a well-established technique that originated in 1977, places fluorescent chemical tags on the terminal nucleotides of DNA fragments that differ in length by a single nucleotide. When these fragments are electrophoresed through a sequence detection instrument, a laser excites each fluorescent tag as it passes by. A camera detects the emitted fluorescence and "reads" the sequence or order of the DNA nucleotides.

Back Forward