RAS question
DNA fingerprinting technique was developed by:
Correct answer: (A) Alec Jeffreys.
DNA fingerprinting was developed in 1984 by British geneticist Sir Alec Jeffreys at the University of Leicester.
Explanation
Sir Alec Jeffreys is the scientist associated with the development of DNA fingerprinting. The breakthrough took place in 1984 at the University of Leicester, and Encyclopaedia Britannica supports the core point: DNA fingerprinting was developed in 1984 by British geneticist Alec Jeffreys after he observed highly variable repeated DNA sequences called minisatellites. The logic behind the technique is that individuals have distinctive minisatellite patterns, making DNA useful for identification. That is why the answer is Alec Jeffreys, not another major DNA or molecular biology figure. In the Indian context supplied here, CDFD at Hyderabad was established in 1995 for forensic, paternity, and biodiversity applications of DNA fingerprinting and diagnostics.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) Har Gobind Khorana is not the developer of DNA fingerprinting; his relevant association is work on gene synthesis.
- (C) James Watson is linked here to the co-discovery of DNA structure, whereas DNA fingerprinting as a technique is attributed to Alec Jeffreys.
- (D) Kary Mullis is associated with inventing the PCR technique, not with developing DNA fingerprinting.
Concept
This tests the Science and Technology syllabus area on biotechnology and forensic applications. It recurs in RAS because DNA fingerprinting connects a named discovery, its identification principle, and Indian institutional use through CDFD Hyderabad.