STR typing in a deficiency case of disputed paternity

In a case of disputed paternity where the alleged father was dead and the children and their mothers were available for testing, we analyzed 23 conventional hemogenetic markers and six short tandem repeat loci. We deduced the possible types of the alleged father and calculated the probability of paternity. Conventional phenotypings did not provide conclusive proof of paternity. In contrast, typing of the short tandem repeat loci gave a combined probability of paternity of 0.9986, establishing paternity. The present study demonstrates the power of short tandem repeat typing as a tool for solving such a deficiency case.