Use the following source to help you answer the following questions: http://jour
ID: 93659 • Letter: U
Question
Use the following source to help you answer the following questions: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0004838
A. Mitochondrial DNA testing was also done on both Nicholas II and Alix. Why was information from Alix’s, but not Nicholas’, mitochondrial DNA used to identify three females as belonging to Alix?
B. HRH Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, provided mitochondrial DNA used to identify Alix and her three daughters. Why was his mitochondrial DNA used?
C. The Duke of Fife and Princess Xenia provided mitochondrial DNA used to identify Nicholas. One of these is a female and another is a male. Does that matter? What general statement can you make about their genetic relationship to Nicholas.
D. What was discovered in the mitochondrial DNA of Nicholas that was not identified in either the Duke of Fife or Princess Xenia?
E. What three types of DNA were used to test the remains found in a second grave?
F. Of the three types of DNA you listed in #E, which one would have been used specifically to identify Alexis?
G. What was the source of the DNA used to identify Alexis?
Explanation / Answer
Ans. A) The reason for this is the mitochondrial DNA (mt DNA) in all the progenies are inherited from mother (Alexandra) not from father (Nicholas). The Information gathered from mt DNA of Alexei and his sisters were inherited from their mother which indicated an immense possibility that their mt DNA would be matched. Therefore, information collected from Alexei’s, but not Nicholas’s, mt DNA used to identify three females as belonging to Alexei.
E) Three types of DNA used to solve this whole mystery are
F.) Out of the three types of DNA listed in the previous answer, Y-STR Testing has been applied to identify Alexis.
G.) To identify the source of the DNA of Alexis, Y-STR testing on the skeletal material has been carried out. DNA samples (Y-STR haplotype) were taken from Tsar and one of his distantly related cousins Prince Andrew Andreevich Romanov.