Length variation in HV2 of the human mitochondrial DNA control region

J Forensic Sci. 2001 Jul;46(4):862-70.

Abstract

Hair samples were typed from three individuals who exhibited length heteroplasmy in the homopolymeric cytosine stretches (C-stretch) in hypervariable region 2 (HV2). The study demonstrated that for different hairs within an individual, the HV2 C-stretch region can vary with respect to the number of cytosines and/or proportion of C-stretch length variants. Length heteroplasmy may occur regardless of the prominent length variant present in this region. Differences in the number of cytosines at the C-stretch region, or a variation in the relative amounts of heteroplasmic length variants, cannot be used to support an interpretation of exclusion.

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Cytosine
  • DNA, Mitochondrial / genetics*
  • Forensic Medicine
  • Genetic Variation*
  • Hair / chemistry
  • Humans
  • Molecular Sequence Data

Substances

  • DNA, Mitochondrial
  • Cytosine