VNTR

A variable number tandem repeat (or VNTR) is a location in a genome where a short nucleotide sequence is organized as a tandem repeat. These can be found on many chromosomes, and often show variations in length (number of repeats) among individuals. Each variant acts as an inherited allele, allowing them to be used for personal or parental identification. Their analysis is useful in genetics and biology research, forensics, and DNA fingerprinting.

In the schematic above, the rectangular blocks represent each of the repeated DNA sequences at a particular VNTR location. The repeats are in tandem – i.e. they are clustered together and oriented in the same direction. Individual repeats can be removed from (or added to) the VNTR via recombination or replication errors, leading to alleles with different numbers of repeats. Flanking the repeats are segments of non-repetitive sequence (shown here as thin lines), allowing the VNTR blocks to be extracted with restriction enzymes and analyzed by RFLP, or amplified by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique and their size determined by gel electrophoresis.

VNTRs were an important source of RFLP genetic markers used in linkage analysis (mapping) of diploid genomes. Now that many genomes have been sequenced, VNTRs have become essential to forensic crime investigations, via DNA fingerprinting and the CODIS database. When removed from surrounding DNA by the PCR or RFLP methods, and their size determined by gel electrophoresis or Southern blotting, they produce a pattern of bands unique to each individual. When tested with a group of independent VNTR markers, the likelihood of two unrelated individuals' having the same allelic pattern is extremely low. VNTR analysis is also being used to study genetic diversity and breeding patterns in populations of wild or domesticated animals. As such, VNTRs can be used to distinguish strains of bacterial pathogens. In this microbial forensics context, such assays are usually called Multiple Loci VNTR Analysis or MLVA.

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