Question

a young boy has been found, and police are trying to locate his family. they take a dna sample from him and begin collecting dna samples from families who have missing children. if police use dna samples only from the fathers, which type of dna technology can they use to identify the boys parent? mtdna (mitochondrial dna) analysis y - chromosome analysis pcr (polymerase chain reaction) analysis vntrs (variable tandem repeats)

Explanation:

• mtDNA (mitochondrial DNA) analysis is passed from mother to offspring, so it won't help with fathers.
• PCR (polymerase chain reaction) analysis is a technique to amplify DNA, not specifically for identifying paternal lineage.
• VNTRs (variable tandem repeats) are used in general DNA profiling but not specifically tied to paternal DNA.
• Y - chromosome analysis: Males have a Y chromosome which is passed from father to son. So, by comparing the Y - chromosome of the boy with the Y - chromosomes of the potential fathers (from the DNA samples of the fathers), the police can identify the boy's parent.

Answer:

Y - chromosome analysis.