Parentage, identity test

It is particularly important and desirable with breeding animals to verify their identity and parentage. For this purpose, a DNA profile is created from the animal, which is unique and unmistakable for each animal. This profile can be obtained from all kinds of tissue, excluding wool samples, even after the death of the animal and including animal products (meat and milk). Short, repeated DNA sequences, known as microsatellites, are determined for this so called "genetic fingerprint". In parentage analyses, the genetic information of the offspring is compared with that of the possible parent animals. The characteristics of the offspring/proband must always consist of half of the characteristics of the mother and half of the characteristics of the father, otherwise the parentage must be denied. Microsatellite panels recommended by ISAG (International Society for Animal Genetics, www.isag.org.uk) are used for parentage analysis. To ensure continuous quality and international comparability, our laboratory regularly participates in proficiency tests and comparative analyses. Those DNA profiles are internationally standardized, and therefore comparable worldwide.