Exclusion of paternity without testing the mother

Area of Science:

• Forensic Genetics
• Human Genetics
• Immunogenetics

Background:

• Paternity testing traditionally relies on comparing genetic markers between the child, mother, and alleged father.
• Maternal DNA is not always available for paternity testing, necessitating alternative exclusion methods.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of excluding paternity based solely on incompatible phenotypes between a child and an alleged father.
• To determine the cumulative exclusion power of various genetic marker systems when the mother is unavailable.

Main Methods:

• Compilation of incompatible phenotypes across common erythrocyte antigen, enzyme, serum protein, and major histocompatibility antigen systems.
• Analysis of individual and combined efficiencies of these genetic marker systems for paternity exclusion.

Main Results:

• Incompatible phenotypes between child and alleged father can reliably exclude paternity without maternal DNA.
• Utilizing common genetic marker systems cumulatively achieves an approximately 88% chance of paternity exclusion.

Conclusions:

• Paternity exclusion is feasible and efficient using genetic marker analysis even when the mother is not tested.
• The combined analysis of multiple genetic marker systems significantly enhances the power to exclude paternity.