Question

The technique of DNA fingerprinting was initially developed by
(a) Ian Wilmut
(b) Hargobind Khurana
(c) Jacque Monod
(d) Alec Jeffreys
(e) Francois Jacob

Answer 1

Hint: DNA fingerprinting is a technique that requires DNA only in small amounts and can also work with partially degraded DNA. This technique was discovered by geneticists at a laboratory in the Department of Genetics at the University of Leicester.

Complete answer:
Alec John Jeffreys first discovered and created the process of DNA fingerprinting. Through this technique, a person can be identified by comparing the genetic information in the person’s DNA and DNA contained in the provided sample.
This technique was extensively used in forensic science to enable police to identify criminals based on genetic information.
Jeffreys was born in Oxford, England in 1950. After completing a Ph.D. he accepted research work at the European molecular biology in Amsterdam. Initially, he thought to start his research work on the cellular organization in yeast but a fellow researcher named Richard Flavell recruited him to join another project.
This project included the detection and cloning of a mammalian gene specifically the beta-globin chain in rabbits. The main project remained unsuccessful but Jeffreys was able to develop a technique to detect globin genes.
Through this technique, both Jeffreys and Flavell were able to create their first genomic map or record of the DNA sequence of a mammalian gene which was published in 1977, and in 1985 he published his work on DNA fingerprinting.
He also won the Nobel prize in physiology or medicine for discovering introns.

Additional information:
-Jeffreys continued his study on genes by analyzing different structures of the gene and their effect on inheritance.
-He noticed that restriction endonuclease fragments varied among different individuals.
-He used RFLPs or restriction fragment length polymorphisms to detect different patterns of globin chains from unrelated individuals.
-But after he left his work on RFLPs and continued his work on the globin gene.
-When he received a seal as a gift he found out that it contained high levels of myoglobin which made it easier to locate the myoglobin gene.
-He used the seal myoglobin gene to locate the myoglobin gene in humans through cross-hybridization.
-He then specified the sequencing or mapping of the gene in humans and discovered a specific repeating sequence called tandem repeats.
-The variation of tandem repeats in different individuals led him to develop the process of identification by comparing these repeats in an individual to the sample.
Through the process of gel electrophoresis, he was able to see a similar pattern which identified the genetic pattern was related to the individual.

So the correct answer is option d) Alec Jeffreys

Notes:
Jeffreys ('eureka moment') in the lab of Leicester led to the discovery of DNA fingerprinting. His method was first used in 1985 to help in solving a disputed immigration case.