Table 2.
Short tandem repeat (STR) vs. single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) profile data.
| STR | SNP | |
|---|---|---|
| No. of markers | 13–23 | more than 600,000a |
| DNA detected | 2-6 base pair repeats | single nucleotide changes |
| Coverage | mainly non-coding regions | entire human genomea |
| Relatives detected | mainly, siblings, parents, aunts/uncles | up to 5th cousin and beyond |
| Data derived | mainly identification markers | identification markers, plus health, genetic predisposition and other trait markersa |
| Law enforcement activity | directly performed | usually outsourced |
| Database where stored | law enforcement DNA databases | third-party DNA databases |
a
QIAGEN recently released ForenSeq Kintelligence (targeted amplicon sequencing) using only 10,230 SNP markers, none of which are known health-related SNPs [89].