Calculation of paternity probabilities from multilocus DNA profiles

We describe a procedure for evaluation of paternity evidence from multi-locus DNA probe patterns. A computer program abstracts a "+/-" notation description from the multilocus profile and then calculates a paternity index based on observed phenotypic fragment frequencies. The biostatistical evaluation considers only bands found in the child and missing from the mother--a simplified approach that is at once robust and conservative. Mutations are of course taken into account. Particular features lending objectivity to the interpretation include computer reading and matching decisions, and specific recognition and statistical compensation for ambiguities ("faint orphans").