VNTR
Science & Engineering abbreviation · Genetics
| Stands for | Variable number tandem repeat |
|---|---|
| Categories | Science & Engineering |
VNTR stands for Variable number tandem repeat, a genetics abbreviation.
Region where a DNA sequence of roughly 10 to 100 bases is repeated head to tail, with the number of repeats differing between individuals. VNTRs were the basis of the first DNA fingerprinting methods in the 1980s.
Example: Early paternity tests compared VNTR band patterns on Southern blots.
Usage notes
Alec Jeffreys at the University of Leicester discovered DNA fingerprinting with these "minisatellite" regions in 1984; the technique helped convict Colin Pitchfork in 1988, the first murder conviction based on DNA. Shorter, PCR-friendly STRs have since replaced VNTRs in forensics.
Related abbreviations
More genetics abbreviations
- AD – Autosomal dominant
- AR – Autosomal recessive
- atDNA – Autosomal DNA
- BAC – Bacterial artificial chromosome
- BLAST – Basic Local Alignment Search Tool
- bp – Base pair
- cDNA – Complementary DNA
- ChIP-seq – Chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing
- cM – Centimorgan
- CNV – Copy-number variation
- CpG – Cytosine-phosphate-guanine (site)
- dsDNA – Double-stranded DNA