Genotyping

Genotyping

Genotyping is the method used to determine differences within the genetic makeup, or “genotype,” of a specific individual organism. Genotyping is done through examining the organism’s DNA sequences using a biological assay and comparing it with another organism’s individual's sequence, called a “reference sequence.” The reference sequence reveals which alleles the individual organism has inherited from its parents .

Traditional genotyping uses DNA sequences to express similar and dissimilar traits of a biological population by employing molecular tools. However, it does not typically involve describing the genes of a specific individual organism.

Research

Genotyping is vital in researching genes and variants of genes related to disease. Present models of genotyping consist of a restriction process called RFLPI, standing for fragment-length polymorphism identification, of genomic DNA sequences as well as random amplified polymorphic detection, known as RAPD, of the organism’s genomic DNA.

Due to the existing technological limitations virtually all genotyping is considered as partial. In humans this means only a tiny fraction of an organism’s individual’s genotype, which consists of approximately three billion nucleotides, can be determined with processes like RAD sequencing. However, new mass-sequencing techniques show promise in providing future whole-genome sequencing capabilities

An area often referred to as forensic microbiology, or molecular epidemiology, provides for studying a wide range of individual organisms, including microorganisms like viruses and bacteria. In this context, genotyping has the potential to help control the spreading of infectious diseases by map out the origin of an outbreak.

Medical Study

When studying a transgenic, or genetically modified, organism a single genomic area is sometimes all that is needed to determine the organism’s genotype. In mice, for example, just one PCR assay is characteristically sufficient to genotype a transgenic mouse, which is why mice are typically the go-to mammalian model for clinical research.