On the mutation model used in the fingerprinting DNA

Abstract Objectives The most common technique of determining biological paternity or another relationship among people are the investigations of DNA polymorphism called Fingerprinting DNA. The key concept of these investigations is the statistical analysis, which leads to obtain the likelihood ratio (LR), sometimes called the paternity index. Methods Among the different assumptions stated in these computations is a mutation model (this model is used for all the computations). Results and conclusions Although its influence on LR is usually negligible, there are some situations (when the mother–child mutation arises) when it is crucial.