Genetic Reconstruction Explained
Friday, March 31st, 2006If an alleged father is unavailable for DNA paternity testing because he is missing or deceased, Beta Paternity may be able to perform a grandparentage test to determine whether a child is related to the alleged father’s biological parents.
However, if one or both biological grandparents on the alleged father’s side are unavailable for testing, Beta Paternity may recommend that a genetic reconstruction be performed instead of a grandparentage test.
In a genetic reconstruction, a child’s DNA profile is compared with that of two close relatives of the missing alleged father. A close relative can be a biological parent or a full brother or sister of the alleged father. The child’s mother is also tested to account for half of the child’s DNA.
The results of a genetic reconstruction state the likelihood with which the child is related to the alleged father’s tested family members. (Because the alleged father was not actually tested, Beta Paternity does not make inferences about the alleged father’s relationship to the child.) For some people, this likelihood of relatedness result is enough to infer on their own that the missing alleged father is—or is not—the biological father of the child.
