Question

In 1918, the tsar (king) and tsarina (queen) of Russia and their five children were presumably assassinated and buried in an unmarked grave. Later, several women came forward and claimed that they were in fact Anastasia, one of the daughters whose bones had not been found. More recently, forensic scientists have extracted DNA, including mtDNA, from the skeletal remains of the tsar (father), tsarina (mother), and children. Which of the following samples of mtDNA would NOT be helpful in confirming that a woman is Anastasia?
a. the tsar and tsarina and living relatives of each of them.
b. each of the claimants or their living children.
c. the tsar, tsarina, and the other assassinated children.
d. the tsar and tsarina only.
e. the tsarina and the claimants.

Answer 1

The correct answer is B. Each of the claimants or their living children.

Explanation:

One of the basic principles in genetics establishes genes are passed from the parents to their offspring. Indeed, children receive 50% of genes from each parent. This implies the daughter of the tsar and tsarina will have share part of the DNA including mtDNA (mitochondrial DNA) of her mother, father, and siblings.

According to this, to prove if someone is Anastasia or not, it is possible to use the mtDNA sample from the tsar, tsarina, or death children but not from the claimants. This is because the claimants are not confirmed relatives of the tsar or the tsarina, and therefore their DNA cannot be used to determine if a woman is the daughter of the tsar and tsarina. Indeed, a woman claiming to be Anastasia can share DNA with another claimant and this does not prove they are related to the tsar and tsarina or that the woman is the real Anastasia.