Forensic Biology and DNA Analysis – Blood, Semen, and Skeletal Remains Practice Exam

When DNA is scarce or degraded, using mitochondrial DNA typing is particularly helpful because there are many copies of mitochondrial DNA in each cell, much more than nuclear DNA. This high copy number means that even small or damaged samples can yield readable mtDNA, since the fragments you amplify tend to be shorter and easier to recover. The mitochondrial genome is also more resilient to degradation, so you can obtain a usable profile from challenging materials like hair shafts, bones, or other limited evidence. In forensic contexts, mtDNA typing focuses on the hypervariable regions of the control region to compare with references, providing a usable match when nuclear DNA data aren’t obtainable. In contrast, whole genome sequencing needs more and better-preserved DNA, while RNA profiling isn’t DNA and proteomics analyzes proteins, not DNA.