Utility and applications of lineage markers: mitochondrial DNA and Y-chromosome

Abstract

Mitochondrial DNA and Y chromosome genetic markers are characterized by their lineage markers, so they are inherited without recombination phenomena and nearly unaltered from generation to generation, with the difference that the mitochondrial DNA is transferred from mothers to all her descendants and the Y chromosome is inherited from father to all his sons (males). On one hand, these characteristics provide them the impossibility of being used to individualize or identify a specific individual; but on the other hand, these same characteristics bring a rich pool of possibilities like the study of families, lineages, or biogeographical origin, or the possibility of obtaining information from degraded samples or minimal signs, which in specific cases could provide interesting supplementary information or even, in the worst cases, be the only information available. This chapter will be focused on the main characteristics, utility, and applications of these kinds of markers, focusing the attentionon general applications and forensic applications in particular.