Which molecular marker is used in forensics for individual identification?
Short tandem repeats are hypervariable loci composed of two to six base pair repeats with numerous alleles in populations, high heterozygosity and low mutation stability suitable for human identification. Their small amplicon size allows analysis from degraded DNA samples, multiplex PCR enables simultaneous typing of fifteen to twenty loci, generating a unique genetic profile with extreme discriminatory power. RFLP requires large DNA amounts, SNP panels are biallelic and less discriminatory per locus, while ISSR lacks standardized forensic databases and reproducibility.
Ref: NCERT Biology Class XII Principles on Klenow fill-in labeling, Lehninger Chapter 9 DNA cloning techniques, and Molecular Cloning by Sambrook Chapter 10 documenting end-labeling of cohesive termini.