Question

Why are restriction enzymes important for DNA fingerprinting?

Answer 1

Polymorphism within genes

Explanation:

Basically, genes are polymorphic i.e. more than one form of the gene is present. As a consequence of this, the restriction sites are polymorphic as well.

During fertilization, recombination occurs due to meiosis as a result these restriction sites become polymorphic as a consequence restriction sites present in a newborn will be a combination of the ones present in its parents.

So, if restriction sites are cleaved using restriction enzymes in the newborn and parents and a gel electrophoresis is carried out with the cleaved fragments, the gel pattern of the newborn will be similar to its parents and that is why it is known as DNA fingerprinting. This is often used to as a part of forensic science.